Speaker touts approval of 23 Marcos priority bills

The House of Representatives has approved 23 of 31 or 74% of the priority measures of the Marcos administration on third and final reading, Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte said.

Romualdez issued the statement ahead of the expected adjournment of the congressional session Wednesday, March 22.

These measures are:

• SIM Registration Act (which has been signed into law last October 2022)
• Postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October this year (signed into law last October 2022)
• Magna Carta of Seafarers
• E-Government Act
• Establishment of Negros Island Region
• Establishment of the Virology Institute of the Philippines
• Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act
• Establishment of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Establishment of the 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
• Amendments to Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law
• Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers
• Valuation Reform
• Establishment of Eastern Visayas Development Authority
• Establishment of Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone
• Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery Act
• National Citizens Service Training Program Act and
• Rightsizing the National Government Act

“These measures were already transmitted to the Senate. We have done our share in passing important pieces of legislation that will help the country recover from the crippling impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and external shocks that adversely affect the economy and the nation,” Romualdez said.

“That was our commitment during the series of meetings at LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council)," he added.

The eight other LEDAC bills pending in the House are:

• Establishment of the Regional Specialty Hospitals
• Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry
• Establishment of Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission
• National Land Use Act
• Amendments to Electric Power Industry Reform Act
• Budget Modernization Act
• National Defense Act
• Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension for Uniformed Personnel

“We are working double time to pass the remaining eight LEDAC measures. We are confident of approving them on third and final reading before the sine die break,” the House leader said.

After its expected adjournment on March 22, Congress will resume session on May 8.—LDF, GMA Integrated News