WORLD : Aquino Voted Emergency Powers
The Philippine House of Representatives today voted President Corazon Aquino emergency powers for 90 days to help her rebuild the economy and thwart further coup attempts.
The Senate, expected to approve a similar bill, postponed its vote for a day after the opposition sparked a marathon debate on a provision that would allow Aquino to take over public utilities and related businesses.
The two chambers are to present a joint bill to Aquino, who is expected to sign it into law this week.
The law would grant Aquino, who this month survived the sixth coup attempt against her, powers to seize firearms, take over public utilities, fix prices, regulate power supplies and confiscate hoarded food.
The lower house denied Aquino some of the wider authority she had requested, including the power to ban strikes and suspend labor laws and an open-ended provision that some legislators said would have given her lawmaking powers.
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