SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday said eight of the 19 legislative priority measures enumerated by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday are eligible for swift approval under Rule 10, Section 48 of the House of Representatives.

Romualdez said the House would “also work on the immediate approval of other SONA measures the soonest time possible in order to make President Marcos’ vision of a better nation a reality.”

Under Rule 10, Section 48, Romualdez said it authorizes the committees to dispose of priority measures already filed and approved on third reading in the immediately preceding Congress.

“We have the internal mechanism for an expeditious approval process that is enshrined in Rule 10, Section 48 of the House rules of procedure,” Romualdez said, adding the passage of eight measures could be expedited, since these had been approved on third and final reading by the House and transmitted to the Senate in the course of the three-year life of the18th Congress.

Rule 10 provides: “In case of bills or resolutions that are identified as priority measures of the House, which were previously filed in the immediately preceding Congress and have already been approved on third reading, the same may be disposed of as matters already reported upon the approval of the members of the committee present, there being a quorum.”

Romualdez said the use of this particular rule would greatly hasten consideration and endorsement by any committee of any covered bill, and its eventual plenary approval.

“We are in full support of the President’s entire legislative agenda, including the key priority proposals for legislation he has asked Congress to consider. We will act on these with dispatch,” Romualdez said.

The priority measures enumerated by President Marcos in his SONA were the Valuation Reform Bill, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill, Medical Reserve Corps bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority bill, Virology Institute of the Philippines bill, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill, Department of Water Resources bill, E-Governance Act, National Land Use Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program, Budget Modernization bill, National Government Rightsizing Program, National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, and Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

The eight measures whose passage could be hastened through Rule 10, Section 48 were Valuation Reform Bill, PIFITA, E-Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, GUIDE, Medical Reserve Corps, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, and Virology Institute of the Philippines.

Of the eight measures, five are covered by bills authored by Romualdez.

These are GUIDE (House Bill No. 1), Medical Reserve Corps (HB 2), Internet Transaction Act (HB 4), National Disease Prevention Management Authority (HB 9), and Virology Institute of the Philippines (HB 10).

Of the 19 SONA measures, Romualdez has filed 12 counterpart bills, which among the first 25 legislative proposals he has submitted to the House.

The 12 are GUIDE (House Bill No. 1), Medical Reserve Corps (HB No. 2), E-Governance Act (HB No. 3), Internet Transaction Act (HB No. 4), unified pension system (HB No. 7), National Disease Prevention Management Authority (HB No. 9), Virology Institute of the Philippines (HB No. 10), National Defense Act (HB No. 11), National Government Rightsizing Program (HB No. 12), Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry (HB No. 17), bill on budget modernization (HB No. 19), and Department of Water Resources (HB No. 21).

“We will give these and all the other SONA measures utmost priority,” Romualdez said.

He said President Marcos “clearly spelled out a roadmap of governance in his six years of office” in Monday’s address to the nation.

“His message was crystal-clear: the main focus of his administration will be economic recovery, with agriculture as the major engine for growth and employment,” Romualdez added.

The Speaker pointed out that the prospect of economic recovery looks bright with the President’s plan to implement tax administration reforms and sound fiscal management, and to prioritize government spending that would immediately address the economic scarring caused by the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“President Marcos was spot on in identifying the major cause of low production in agriculture and high prices of agricultural goods, which is the high cost of inputs. The House of Representatives is committed to help him bring down the cost of farm inputs, including fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds,” he stressed.