Senate, House open 2nd regular session of 19th Congress

The two houses of Congress on Monday opened the second regular session of the 19th Congress, hours before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

At the Senate, only 23 senators were present as Senator Pia Cayetano accompanied the Filipinas — the Philippine Women’s National Football Team — in their ongoing participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

According to her office, Cayetano is the head of the Philippine delegation for the said competition.

During the first day of the second regular session, the Senate adopted Senate Resolutions 681 and 682, which inform the House of Representatives and Marcos, respectively, that there is a quorum in the upper chamber and that the body has opened the second regular session of the 19th Congress.

It also adopted House Concurrent Resolution 15 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, which provide for the holding of a joint session by the Senate and the House of Representatives to hear Marcos' second SONA.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri delivered a speech at the opening of session where he laid down the priority measures of the chamber.

He emphasized that the bills that they will tackle are not the president’s request but the people’s.

Among the Senate priority measures that he mentioned are:

• bill creating the Center for Disease Control
• bill creating the Virology Institute of the Philippines
• bill creating the Medical Reserve Corps
• amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law
• Ease of Paying Taxes bill
• Waste to Energy Bill
• Magna Carta for Seafarers Bill
• bill establishing a National Employment Action Plan
• bill for the Across-the-Board Wage Hike
• E-Governance Act
• Internet Transactions Act
• Defense Modernization bill
• 2024 General Appropriations Act

"Every measure bound for the President’s desk will pass through our quality control. Not a single bill will be enrolled unless it is fundable, and shovel[1]or rollout-ready," he said.

"Every bill carries a price tag which should not be hidden, as they are either paid by the taxes we pay today, or left to our children to settle, whose future has been mortgaged," he added.

'Senate independence'

Zubiri also vowed to keep the independence of the chamber and the collegial nature of the institution.

"We will keep the faith in an independent Senate—but with independence comes the grit to make hard decisions. We will sail against the wind, so to speak, even meeting headlong the gust of public opinion and to stay the course for as long as we know that we are right," he said.

"So those unpopular but correct, we will defend. The plenary’s mood should not be dictated by any political weather vane," he added.

Zubiri stressed that the Senate is not a mere processor of policies originating from the other branch.

While they will hear the President's legislative agenda in today's SONA, Zubiri said Marcos' takes may differ with the Senate's position.

"His can be rosy. Ours can be restrained. Or in certain issues, we may be upbeat as he will be subdued. But we do agree on the most important point--That the Senate has a major role to play in conquering the challenges before us," he said.

At the  early part of his speech, Zubiri also acknowledged the performance of his colleagues, especially in investigating matters such as the "woes" of NAIA, which he gave a different name—the "Ninoy Aquino Inconvenience Airport" as  well as the MWSS which, for him, means "Metropolitan Waterless Service System."

"While our investigations make for great TV, we launch them not for show, but for solutions. When we exercise our oversight powers, we do so to primarily correct laws," he said.

"If, however, in the process it sends culprits to the correctional, then it is a welcome bonus. The bulk of committee work done here, however, may not be sensational, but nonetheless substantive," he added.

He also highlighted the importance of the minority bloc in the Senate, saying the chamber without fiscalizers "loses its potency and forfeits its credentials as a democratic body."

Reacting to this part of Zubiri's speech, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said he might use the Senate president’s speech against him in the future.

"Kasi sinabi niya kailangan ng fiscalizer. So you never cut the time for the fiscalizers," Pimentel told reporters in an interview.

To recall, Pimentel's interpellation of the then-Maharlika Investment Fund Bill at the Senate plenary was cut short after the measure's sponsor refused to take any more questions from the minority bloc.

House

Meanwhile, at the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez led the opening with a vow to focus on 19 priority legislation laid out by the Marcos administration.

Romualdez said these 19 priority measures were agreed upon during the second Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting held recently. Among them are:

• Military and Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform bill
• Public-Private Partnership bill
• bill establishing National Disease Prevention Management Authority
• Internet Transactions Act or E-Commerce Law
• Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team (HEART) Act,
• Medical Reserve Corps Virology Institute of the Philippines
• Mandatory Reserved Officers Training Course and National Service Training Program
• Revitalizing the Salt Industry
• Valuation Reform
• e-Government and e-Governance bill
• ease of Paying Taxes.
• National Government Rightsizing Program
• LGU Income Classification
• Waste-to-Energy Bill
• New Philippine Passport Act
• Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers
• National Employment Action Plan
• Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act and
• Bank  Account Scamming Act (AFASA) bills

"Our unwavering aim is to realize them before the year ends," Romualdez said.

"We remain committed to spurring economic growth, alleviating poverty, augmenting healthcare services, and fostering job opportunities for our fellow countrymen," he added.

For the new session, Romualdez said the House of Representative stands "poised to sustain our momentum. We are here to respond to the call for public service to build a more just, prosperous, and equitable society for our people."

"Our mission is to uphold the Constitution, protect our democracy, and ensure every citizen’s welfare," he added.

There were 311 House members who responded to the roll call during the opening day of the second regular session.  —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News