Based on my review of the historical record, the Philippines never had a better Speaker of the legislature than he is
A competent and industrious leader of Congress is an indispensable requirement for the Philippines to remain on the road to national progress. Stability in congressional leadership is also just as important.
The good news is that just recently, 95 percent of the membership of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Philippines expressed full support for the incumbency of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez as House Speaker.
This development effectively puts to rest public speculation that Romualdez is on his way out of the House leadership.
That public speculation was fueled by the recent, much-publicized resignation of Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte from the administration political party, the Lakas-CMD.
The Lakas-CMD is the political party VP Duterte ran under in the last elections. This political party is therefore the vehicle that propelled her to the Vice-Presidency.
The certainty of Speaker Romualdez staying put as House chief is no longer doubted.
Nonetheless, infinitely many Filipinos do not understand why there is talk about a change of House leadership in the first place.
The unprecedented accomplishments of the House under the leadership of Speaker Romualdez are the best reasons for keeping him at the helm. Indeed, his leadership has steered the House to new heights.
As Speaker, Romualdez has successfully paved the way for the House of Representatives in the 19th Congress to enact 33 out of the 42 bills in the priority list of the administration, that is, before the House adjourned in the meantime. This is confirmed by Senior Deputy House Speaker and Pampanga solon Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. who spoke to the media last June 8.
According to Gonzales, “One thing is clear: Speaker Martin has created an atmosphere of certainty and trust. His strong, compassionate leadership brought all of us together to work on a single vision — to pass measures focused on achieving a prosperous, inclusive and resilient Philippines.”
Gonzales added, “Our record speaks for itself. We are comprehensively addressing the everyday issues our people face, from the high cost of commodities, to unemployment and other economic challenges. We are focused on matters that are important to our people and to the Marcos administration.”
In fine, Gonzales asserted that the leadership and guidance provided by Speaker Romualdez inspire everyone in the House to continue to uphold the oath they took before the Filipino people.
I reviewed the available legislative records in the House and I found that on the final session of the House prior to its adjournment, the chamber approved on third and final reading two important bills, namely, the highly awaited Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act, and the proposed Philippine Salt Industry Development Act.
The other urgent bills previously approved by the House on third and final reading during Speaker Romualdez’ watch were, among others, those pertaining to the Maharlika Investment Fund; the Magna Carta of Seafarers; the Internet Transaction Act / E-Commerce Law; the E-Governance and E-Government Act; the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act; the Philippine Passport Act;
the Waste-to-Energy Law; the Apprenticeship Law; the Build-Operate-Transfer Law; the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers; the law on Valuation Reform; the law governing Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery;
the National Citizens Service Training Program; the law on government rightsizing; and the law providing free legal assistance to the police and to soldiers.
Documents also reveal that most of the aforesaid 33 priority bills approved by the House of Representatives are currently pending with the Senate.
Based on past experience, almost all legislative bills passed by the House are supported by the Senate.
Information obtained from pertinent offices in the House of Representatives indicate that 8,426 bills and 1,098 resolutions were filed with the House during the first regular session of the 19th Congress alone.
A total 567 of those were approved.
Additional statistical information obtained from the House discloses that the chamber processes a record 30 legislative and related measures for each session day.
All that, reckoned by any standard, is a sterling accomplishment of the House of Representatives under Speaker Romualdez.
Those feats, indeed, are the best indicators that the House of Representatives of Congress is in the very able hands of Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Based on my review of the historical record, the Philippines never had a better Speaker of the legislature than he is.
As a landmark Supreme Court decision once said, “When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change.”
