Malacañang on Wednesay asked Congress to hasten the passage of the administration’s eight priority legislative measures, including the Philippine Maritime Act, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bill, and two revenue-generating bills, instead of scrambling to pursue Charter change through Constitutional Convention (Con-con).

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo wanted the eight urgent bills to be passed by the Congress, as he noted that he “never discussed” Charter change with her.

Right now the position of the President “is to follow-up on some urgent measures that we have certified as urgent before both Houses of Congress,” he told a press briefing.

Even though calls for constitutional change have been revived in Congress, Ermita said the President won’t join the caravan because “that is not the priority of the President.”

“We just have to await the time when…what the future holds for the President after her term,” he said.

Following the recent sea accidents, Mrs. Arroyo called for the immediate passage of the Philippine Maritime Act, which has been pending in Congress for two years.

To establish a regulatory and supervisory framework for the LPG industry, she also certified as urgent the passage of the LPG bill.

Aiming to have orderly, peaceful, and honest elections this May, the President is pushing for the passage of the Gun Control bill which seeks to impose stiffer penalties for crimes relating to firearms and light weapons, including the unlawful possession, acquisition, manufacture, dealing in or disposition of firearms, ammunition and light weapons.

Two other revenue-generating measures, including the Simplified New Income Taxation for Individuals engaged in trade or business and/or practice of profession and the Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives are also included in the list of the Arroyo government’s priority bills.

Mrs. Arroyo’s other priority measures are the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management bill, which seeks to institutionalize an integrated and coordinated disaster management policy that focuses on preventing and reducing the risk of disasters; Infant and Young Child Feeding measure, which seeks to promote breastfeeding to improve the health of the children, and protecting the rights of nursing mothers and the Amnesty Proclamation for Rebel Returnees.

Ermita said there is no truth to reports that the President expressed willingness to call for a special session to ensure the passage of the Con-con measure.

“What I know is that I have never known of any instruction from the President about her plan to call a special session on this particular issue—there’s no such thing,” he said.