House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez on Monday reaffirmed the leadership’s commitment to continue working on President Rodrigo Duterte to make a comfortable life for Filipinos by passing legislative measures that would propel the country’s economic takeoff.
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Romualdez of Leyte’s First District said the House’s schedule will be full when sessions resume on Jan. 20, 2020.
“Our focus right now is to work hard on legislation and pass all the measures needed to improve the living condition of our people,” Romualdez said.
Before Congress went on a month-long Christmas break on Dec. 21, Romualdez said the House processed a total of 900 measures or an average of 28 measures per day during the 32 session days.
From July 22 to Dec. 18, the House received a total of 6,562 measures and 186 committee reports. Of these, 5,889 were bills and 673 were resolutions.
Meanwhile, House leaders on Monday said the dramatic bump in the public approval and trust ratings of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano in the latest Pulse Asia poll is the best proof yet that he has started to deliver on his pledge to transform the House of Representatives into a “relevant, responsive and reliable House of the People.”
In the survey conducted from Dec. 3 to 8, Cayetano got an approval rating of 80 percent, up 16 percentage points from his 64 percent rating in September.
Representatives Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Cavite and Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan Party-list group also cited the high poll ratings, saying there was no need to honor the term-sharing agreement Cayetano had made with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco
“I don’t see the need to change horses in midstream,” Barzaga said. “If he is performing exceeding well, why do we need to replace him? We might as well retain him as our Speaker for three years until June 30, 2022.”
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, House ways and means committee chairman, said Cayetano’s and the House’s ratings, which have both steadily risen, “demonstrate that the public appreciates what the House leadership and collective membership, and the focused work of its committees have achieved in a matter of six months. Our hard work did not go unnoticed; they ultimately paid off.”
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