The “purposive, action-oriented” leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has enabled the House of Representatives to go on being an “enormously productive” one in the 19th Congress that has passed almost all of the 64 priority measures of President Marcos, sealing this chamber’s standing as a strategic partner of our Chief Executive in his pursuit of a Bagong Pilipinas vision of better lives for all Filipinos, according to CamSur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.
A former CamSur governor and now president of the National Unity Party (NUP), Villafuerte said that “alongside its record legislative productivity, the House—on Romualdez’ watch—has excellently harnessed its congressional oversight function to ensure government accountability in the implementation of programs and projects, especially those meant to uplift the lives of the poor and underprivileged sectors such as senior citizens, PWDs (persons with disabilities) and solo parents.”
Villafuerte noted that, “Speaker Martin has traced the impressive performance of the 307-member House to the continued hard work and diligence of his colleagues, but, in all modestly, has failed to mention that this unbroken record of enormous legislative productivity in the 19th Congress couldn’t have happened minus the purposive, action-oriented leadership of the congressman from Leyte in shepherding through the chamber nearly all of the priority measures of the Marcos presidency.”
“As the Speaker himself has pointed out, the House’s legacy of enormous productivity “underscores the pivotal role of legislation in shaping a stronger, more inclusive Philippines,’ which, for me, seals our bigger chamber’s standing as a strategic partner of President Marcos in his vision of a prosperous and peaceful Bagong Pilipinas where no Filipino will be left behind,” Villafuerte said.
He thus called for “greater unity in the Congress and Malacañang this new year onward so we can carry on with the splendid level of cooperation and hard work by the supermajority alliance that is behind the House’s approval of 61 of the 64 priority measures that the President had either endorsed in his past State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs) or identified with the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
Villafuerte reiterated his full backing for Romualdez’s move for the House to wield its oversight powers to, among others, compel establishments to abide by laws granting discounts and other benefits to senior citizens, solo parents and PWDs.
With Romualdez as Speaker, the House has thus far passed 1,368 measures, including 166 that have become Republic Acts (RAs) or laws, of which 73 are national laws and 93 are local ones, said Villafuerte, whose NUP is the biggest power bloc in the Congress next to the Romualdez-led ruling Lakas-CMD.
Villafuerte noted the 61 of 64 bills on the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) list passed by the House, includes 27 of the 28 measures identified by LEDAC for priority action, earning Romualdez the right to take pride in the chamber’s strong commitment to the President’s Bagong Pilipinas agenda, most particularly about measures fostering economic recovery, national development and institutional reforms.*
