SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday said the House of Representatives will work for the speedy passage of measures to ramp up digitalization that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. highlighted in the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a key component in sustaining the country’s growth momentum.

President Marcos is in Davos to showcase the success story of the Philippines and his government’s aggressive development agenda to attract more foreign investments into the country.

In his opening remarks at the Country Strategy Dialogue on Tuesday, President Marcos stressed the importance of digitalization as a key driver for the long-term development and economic transformation of the Philippines to the post-pandemic global economy.

“The House of Representatives remains committed to pass the priority legislations of President Marcos, including measures for digitalization in both government and private transactions that would bolster efficiency, productivity, and security,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez is part of the official delegation of President Marcos to the WEF.

“Establishment of the framework for digital transformation will undoubtedly help to enhance the prospect of the Philippines as an investment hub that President Marcos has successfully built up in Davos,” he added.

“Upon the resumption of the session, among the top priorities of the House is the passage of the E-Government and E-Governance Act, which would help accelerate our digital transformation to fuel growth momentum,” Romualdez said.

In his one-on-one dialogue with WEF President Borge Brende, President Marcos pointed out the immense potential of digitalization to boost economic growth.

President Marcos’ digital transformation agenda also received another boost as WEF founder and executive chairman Professor Klaus Schwab invited the Philippines Tuesday to join a center the WEF is establishing, which is geared at working and sharing the newest technologies that could help countries develop economically.

It could be recalled that before the House adjourned for the Christmas break, Romualdez noted that it had fulfilled its commitment to pass pro-people measures, including the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, the P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, and 20 other priority bills of the Marcos administration.

However, Romualdez said the House will work equally hard for the passage of the remaining priority bills of President Marcos, particularly those included in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) adopted by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

Romualdez was referring to the priority measures, aside from the E-Governance and E-Government Act included in the CLA: 1. The Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, 2. Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), 3. The Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension, 4. The National Land Use Act, 5. The National Defense Act, 6. The National Government Rightsizing Program, 7. The Budget Modernization Bill, 8. The Department of Water Resources, 9. Establishing the Negros Island Region, 10.Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers, and 11. The Establishment of Regional Specialty Hospitals.

Meanwhile, Romualdez said he is buoyed by the interest generated by the Maharlika Wealth Fund among the Davos participants.

“With the keen interest shown by investors and policymakers alike on the Maharlika Investment Fund, I believe we would be well on our way towards establishing a sovereign wealth fund to support the implementation of big-ticket infrastructure projects, particularly in energy and agriculture,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez is the principal author of House Bill (HB) No. 6608, creating the MIF, which was approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives on December 15, 2022 and was transmitted to the Senate on December 19, 2022.

According to a statement of the Presidential Communication Office (PCO), multinational investment firm Morgan Stanley made a commitment Wednesday to invest in the Philippines to back the government’s development initiatives.

President Marcos met with Mr. Gokul Laroia, Chairman for Asia Pacific of Morgan Stanley, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

Laroia said President Marcos is on the right track in involving the private sector, especially in developing the country’s infrastructure, adding that the sovereign wealth fund being pushed by the administration becomes interesting because a lot of the infrastructure investments will be carried out in the long term.