The 19th Congress has approved only four of the 42 priority legislative measures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ahead of its sine die adjournment next week.
The House of Representatives already approved 31 of the priority bills, including the four that were also passed by the Upper Chamber.
Of the House-approved measures, 27 are still pending with the Senate.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has yet to respond to requests for comment on the legislative performance of the Upper House.
Of the four measures passed by Congress, the President has signed into law three: the SIM Registration Act, the bill postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October this year, and the measure amending the law on the fixed term of military officials.
The fourth measure that seeks to condone unpaid loans and their penalties obtained by agrarian reform beneficiaries is still waiting for the President’s signature.
“We are proud of our collective accomplishment – 31 out of 42 and counting. As of today, we have achieved a significant part of our goal in less than a year of session,” Speaker Martin Romualdez said in a statement.
“I thank our colleagues for their hard work, as well as the various political parties in the House which have committed to support the passage of priority measures determined by the President and the LEDAC and the House itself,” he added.
The Speaker said the measures “aim to support the President’s vision of keeping the economy on the high growth path and generating more jobs and income opportunities for our people.
Measures that have been approved by the House on third and final reading include: Magna Carta of Seafarers, E-Governance Act / E Government Act, creation of the Negros Island Region, Virology Institute of the Philippines, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, National Disease Prevention Management Authority or Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Passport Act, Internet Transaction Act / E Commerce Law, Waste-to-Energy Bill, Free Legal Assistance for Police and Soldiers, Apprenticeship Act, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, Valuation Reform, Eastern Visayas Development Authority, Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery, National Citizens Service Training Program, and National Government Rightsizing.
Also finally passed and sent to the Senate is the Maharlika Investment or Sovereign Fund bill, authored principally by Speaker Romualdez, which the President has certified as urgent.
Two more bills are scheduled for House approval on third and final reading: the Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act and the Philippine Salt Industry Act.
