President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has endorsed 21 proposed measures as part of the priority legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), including a bill seeking to abolish the travel tax, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President is pushing for Congress to pass the measures by June, ahead of his second-to-last State of the Nation Address.
Castro explained that Marcos supported the proposal to eliminate the travel tax after recognizing its impact on Filipinos who need to travel abroad, whether for leisure, employment, or urgent personal reasons.
“The President is also aware that Filipinos who travel do so not only for leisure, but also for work and, in some cases, for emergencies,” she said.
The Palace announcement came days after House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos filed House Bill No. 7443, which calls for the removal of the travel tax currently charged to outbound Filipino passengers. Under existing rules, the tax is set at P2,700 for first-class travelers and P1,620 for economy passengers.
The younger Marcos welcomed the measure’s inclusion in the Ledac list, saying the tax has become an unnecessary burden for Filipino travelers.
The travel tax was established through Presidential Decree No. 1183 issued in 1977 and reinforced under provisions of the Tourism Act of 2009. Its proceeds are distributed to several government agencies, with half going to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, 40 percent allocated to the Commission on Higher Education for tourism-related programs, and 10 percent directed to the National Commission for Culture and Arts.
Castro said the removal of the travel tax would not mean ending government support for these sectors, noting that funding could instead be sourced through allocations in the national budget.
Apart from economic measures, Malacañang also highlighted renewed momentum for a proposed law banning political dynasties, which Marcos raised again during the latest Ledac meeting.
“The President also prioritized getting an update on the proposed antipolitical dynasty measure as this is something both the President and the public want enacted as soon as possible,” Castro said.
Castro cited Senator Risa Hontiveros, who attended the meeting, saying the Senate has already begun consultations in Pasig City and plans to hold more discussions in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The proposed antipolitical dynasty law and a bill on party list reforms were already tagged as priorities during the Ledac meeting in December last year. According to the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev), these measures aim to strengthen democratic representation and prevent abuse of public office.
Also included in the updated list are proposals to reset the parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, strengthen laws against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and impose penalties for fake news and digital disinformation that threaten public order or national security.
The administration’s anticorruption agenda was likewise expanded with the inclusion of the Right to Information Act and a bill seeking reforms to the bank deposits secrecy law. These joined earlier measures such as the creation of an Independent People’s Commission and the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (Cadena) Act.
DepDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said these proposals are meant to institutionalize transparency and strengthen oversight over public spending.
“By establishing stronger oversight mechanisms over infrastructure spending and advancing real-time transparency in the budget process, the administration continues to drive reforms to make sure every peso spent works for the benefit of the Filipino people,” Balisacan said.
Other priority bills for 2026 include amendments to the coconut farmers and industry trust fund law, revisions to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, updates to the Masustansyang Pagkain Para Sa Batang Pilipino Act, expanded assistance for private school students and teachers, a classroom-building acceleration program, and the creation of a National Center for Geriatric Health.
The list also includes the waste-to-energy bill, proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act and rice tariffication law, a plan to establish a Department of Water Resources, and an estate tax amnesty.
