The approved bills by Congress under the Romualdez leadership show the institution has been hard at work on important measures
Speaker Martin Romualdez is on the right track in focusing his time and energy—and that of the House of Representatives—on what’s needed at this time, which is to push forward the priority legislative agenda of the Marcos administration.
Romualdez should not be distracted by toxic politics of division and discord.
The only correct path at this point is the politics of unity and consensus.
Here, Romualdez should demonstrate high statesmanship and be able to reconcile conflicting interests with as much finesse as he can muster.
The House cannot afford to be divided into political factions each with its own agenda.
We can understand our lawmakers will have to do what is necessary to consolidate their political forces at the barangay level and help their political allies win in the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections or BSKE.
Then there will be members of Congress who will run for reelection in 2025 and likewise have to devote time to building up their electoral machineries and to form alliances and coalitions at the district level to ensure victory in the 2025 polls.
Apart from these, the 2028 national election offers yet another opportunity for politicians to aspire for higher office, including the Senate, the vice presidency and of course, the highest elective post, which is the presidency.
But, as we said, this is not the right time for Congress to be kept busy by political maneuvering and backroom wheeling-and-dealing when there is a real need to focus on legislation that will usher in sweeping reforms in Philippine society, particularly in the post-COVID 19 period.
There’s much work to be done.
The job of Congress is to pass laws of both local and national application that will benefit the country as a whole.
Speaker Romualdez has reported that as of last month, the Lower Chamber of Congress has passed 31 of 42 the priority bills identified by the Marcos Jr. administration.
“We are proud of our collective accomplishment — 31 out of 42 and counting. We have achieved a significant part of our goal in less than a year of session,” he pointed out.
The approved bills by Congress under the Romualdez leadership show the institution has been hard at work on important measures.
House Bill 8078 will give flesh to the President’s Building Better More program.
It is all-encompassing program covering not only infrastructure such as roads, bridges and expressways, but also energy, water resources, information and communication technology, agri-fisheries, food logistics, and socially oriented structures such as school buildings and other educational facilities.
Another significant piece of legislation is the National Land Use Act (HB 8162), which seeks to optimize the proper use of land.
Other measures approved by the House are the E-Governance/E-Government bill, the creation of the Negros Island region, the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, as well as measures creating the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Medical Reserve Corps and the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
The House also passed measures that with Senate concurrence would become the Philippine Passport Act, the Internet transactions/E-Commerce Law, the Waste-to-Energy Act, the Apprenticeship Act, amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, and a law providing for free legal assistance for police and soldiers.
Also approved were bills outlining the rights of seafarers and barangay health workers, as well as those creating the Eastern Visayas Development Authority and the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone.
The House also passed the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery bill, the real property valuation reform bill, the measure proposing to set up the National Citizens Service Training Program, and the national rightsizing program bill.
Priority measures awaiting second-reading approval are the proposed National Employment Action Plan, an enabling law for the natural gas industry, and the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System bill.
Measures proposing to create a Water Resources department, as well as amendments to the Electric Power Industry Act and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act are currently being evaluated at committee level or by technical working groups.
Priority bills signed into law included the SIM Registration Act and the measure amending the fixed terms of Armed Forces of the Philippines chiefs of staff and other senior officers.
Meanwhile, the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund bill has been approved by the Senate after the President certified it as urgent .
These measures, according to Speaker Romualdez, “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.”
More than this, however, the legislative output of the House of Representatives in the past year not only demonstrates the competent leadership of Speaker Romualdez, but also the capability of the chamber to rise to the challenge and make it truly a catalyst of change in the country’s political, economic and social spheres.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
