3 months ahead of schedule

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Tuesday reported 100-percent approval by the House of Representatives, three months ahead of schedule, of the 19 priority measures identified by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) slated for passage by June 2024.

At the same time, the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives reiterated his continued support for the President in making life better for Filipinos.

“Mr. President, rest assured that you will have our continued support in our goal for a brighter, better Philippines for our countrymen,” Speaker Romualdez said.

In his report to this morning’s full LEDAC meeting in Malacañang presided over by the President, Speaker Romualdez said the House of Representatives has fulfilled its commitment to pass all the 19 LEDAC priority measures three months ahead of the June 2024 target.

“Mr. President, we have done our homework and all the 19 measures re-prioritized for target by June 2024 have been approved on the third and final reading by the House of Representatives,” Romualdez said.

The 19 measures LEDAC targeted for passage in June include the following: 1. Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System 2. Negros Island Region 3. Philippine Maritime Zones Act 4. Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act 5. Philippine Defense Industry Development Act (PDIDA)/Self-Reliant Defense Posture Act 6. Valuation Reform Bill 7. Waste-to-Energy Bill 8. Instituting a National Citizens Service Training (NCST) Program 9. E-Government/E-Governance Act 10. Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act (AFASA) 11. Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry 12. VAT on Digital Services 13. Open Access in Data Transmission Act 14. Military and Uniformed Personnel Reform Bill 15. Blue Economy Act 16. Amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act 17. Department of Water Resources and Services 18. Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act. 19. CREATE MORE.

“This clearly shows that this present House of the People is a proactive chamber that caters and listens to the needs of the people passing needed legislation attuned to the Philippine Development Plan and the 8-point Socio-Economic Agenda under the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) of His Excellency PBBM,” Romualdez said.

Likewise, Speaker Romualdez reported that the House has passed all but three of all the LEDAC priority measures, having passed 56 bills out of the updated list now totaling 59 after the council added the ARAL and CREATE MORE bills.

“I am honored to report that the House of Representatives is working hard towards realizing the common legislative agenda of the executive and legislative branches,” Speaker Romualdez said.

He noted that as of Sept. 27, 2023, the House had approved all 20 of the LEDAC priority bills targeted for passage by December 2023, or three months ahead of schedule. In fact, he said 10 of the 20 were approved by the House on third reading as early as 2022.

He enumerated these as: Internet Transactions Act, Public-Private Partnership Act, Ease of Paying Taxes, New Philippine Passport Act, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, HEART Act, Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines, NCST Program Act, Valuation Reform, and Waste Treatment Technology Act.

Romualdez said that of the 20 priority measures targeted for approval by December last year, the President has signed seven into law.

He said three are in the bicameral conference: amendments of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, the Magna Carta for Seafarers, and the Valuation Reform Act. The rest of the measures approved by the House on third reading have already been transmitted to the Senate.

The House leader also reported that the House has also approved all the 17 priority measures mentioned by the President in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year.

“Truly, this is a testament to the zeal and commitment of the members of the House of Representatives in passing our common legislative agenda,” the Speaker said.

“I am very much honored to be at the helm of a House of Representatives that is as dedicated and hardworking as the 19th Congress,” he said.