CAVITE Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr. on Thursday congratulated Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez for receiving a high satisfaction rating in the latest survey undertaken by Pulse Asia, saying his leadership by example has been bearing fruits as the public begins to appreciate the work done by the House of Representatives.

“This is another positive news for the House under the result-oriented leadership of Speaker Romualdez. It means that the work we do in the House of Representatives is resonating with the people,” Barzaga said.

The latest Pulse Asia survey shows Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez both receiving a 51 percent approval rating, while Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo got a 43 percent.

The survey, which was conducted from March 15 to 19, said only 12 percent disapproved of Romualdez’s performance, ten percent for Zubiri, and 15 percent for Gesmundo.

Both President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte also received high approval ratings, with 78 percent and 83 percent of respondents approving of their performances, respectively.

Barzaga, who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, said the Pulse Asia survey complements the result of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) public satisfaction survey, which showed that the House of Representatives led the list of government agencies that obtained high satisfaction ratings, garnering a score of +53 in a survey conducted from December 10 to 14 that remained in the purview of “Very Good.”

The survey also indicated that 63 percent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the chamber, while only seven percent were dissatisfied.

While the House is merely doing its job of legislation, Barzaga said he still takes pleasure from the fact that the House, as an institution, has won back the public’s trust and confidence, recovering from the low marks it used to receive in some previous Congresses.

“It’s great to know that the public appreciates our work. That’s what happens when your leader is a go-getter like Speaker Martin; it makes all the difference,” he said.

Barzaga said the high satisfaction ratings of the House and the Speaker should inspire lawmakers not only to continue their good job but to step it up some more in the remainder of the 19th Congress.

Before the Lenten season break of the House of Representatives last month, the chamber approved on the third and final reading 23 of 31 bills identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) as priority measures of the Marcos administration.

Signed into law by the President are two measures: the SIM Registration Act, now in effect, and the bill postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October this year.

Aside from these, there are 20 other LEDAC-endorsed bills – collectively known as the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) of Malacañang and Congress – that were approved on third and final reading: Magna Carta of Seafarers, Negros Island Region, E-Governance Act/E-Government Act, 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 Rightsizing the National Government.

One LEDAC bill, the Agrarian Reform Debts Condonation, is now up for approval by the bicameral conference committee.

The eight other LEDAC bills pending in the House are the: Regional Specialty Hospitals (for second reading approval); Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry (under technical working group or TWG deliberation); National Land Use Act (TWG); Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission (TWG); Electric Power Industry Reform Act (for committee deliberation); Budget Modernization (for committee deliberation); National Defense Act (for committee deliberation); and Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension for Uniformed Personnel (also for committee deliberation).