In our previous article, we talked about the Competition Act, Anti-distracted Driving Law, and Cybercrime Law. In this list, we finish off with 3 more popular laws in the last decade that will be the talk of legal service in the Philippines.
Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10354)
Countries are reinforcing healthier and more responsible sexual relations among citizens, and in 2012, Philippines got on the same boat. But it wasn’t without contention; being the catholic country that we are, the RH Bill seems to have struck a chord for being “unnatural” and encouraging of premarital sex. The bill however, which aims to make contraception, sexual education, sexual health services, and maternal care among other, universally available.
Philippines Identity System Act (Republic Act No. 11055)
This act imposes that all citizens and foreign permanent residents of the country should have a national ID card and that’s pretty much it. Not every citizen has a default ID card especially since not all Filipinos have the privilege of formal employment; this act provides that everyone shall be issued and ID card which is beneficial for them, for national security, for any civil, social, and legal services that they might need in the Philippines. The bill was met with reluctance because it might open up a breach in the privacy of individuals.
Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (Republic Act No. 10963)Z
This is the first of of four packages that aims to reform tax implementation under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program. The law, more (in)famously known as the TRAIN Law, reduced personal income tax for and greatly augmented consumption tax. In a nutshell, income tax is projected to drop to 15% by 2023 while excise tax, VAT, and other consumption taxes are going to be incrementally raised every year. This drew flak especially sans formal employees, people in informal sectors don’t get the benefit of reduced income tax but are burdened by inflated consumption tax that is being imposed on commodities.
Although availing of legal services in the Philippines can do very little to create a change on these 3 laws, but hopefully with better governance as well as more vigilant and comprehensive law creation and implementation, we can look towards a new decade that has a positive difference.
Lawyering in the Philippines 