MANILA, Philippines — President Aquino will convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on July 12 to present the next set of administration's priority measures for the year.

The President is likely to seek congressional support for the passage of the 2012 national budget and other proposals deemed crucial to alleviate poverty and propel economic growth during the LEDAC assembly next month.

“We will have a LEDAC meeting on July 12,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a Palace press briefing, a day after the President signed four measures into law.

Lacierda said the Office of the Executive Secretary will finalize the list of priority bills that will be presented to leaders of both houses of Congress next month.

This will be the second LEDAC assembly that will be called by the President since he assumed office last year. The last meeting was held last February when he pushed for the approval of 23 priority bills to congressional leaders.

The President, meantime, said he is still studying the proposed P1.8 trillion budget for next year since the document is "as thick as a PLDT directory."

Aquino, in a press conference during his visit in Cotabato City, said he has asked several Cabinet members to answer his concerns during the next meeting. His notes were 10 to 12 pages long. "I want to be transparent as much as possible," he said.

Last Tuesday, the President met with economic managers to tackle the proposed budget for 2012, which is higher than the P1.645 trillion for this year. The budget seeks to prioritize spending on social services and infrastructure.

Under the budget proposal, social services sector will get more than 30 percent of the national budget or more than P500 million while the economic services sector will get around P400 billion. The government also plans to reduce budget deficit to 2.6 percent of the gross domestic product in 2012.

Lacierda said he could not yet say if the freedom of information bill or the responsible parenthood bill will be among the priority measures of the Aquino government when Congress resumes session next month. But he said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has already prepared a draft FOI bill upon the orders of the President.

Last February, the President asked Congress to pass 23 priority bills in the first LEDAC meeting. He also called for frequent LEDAC meetings to address developmental issues affecting the country.

The new laws signed by the President so far are the 2011 national budget, Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011, and the postponement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections.