House delivered on Duterte agenda, says Arroyo

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday lauded her colleagues in the House of Representatives for their help in delivering her promise to meet President Duterte’s legislative agenda, the last of which was the passage of a measure establishing a federal government.

Barely five months after taking over the helm of the 292-member chamber, the former President announced that the House was able to deliberate a total of 1,361 proposed bills in thrice-a-week plenary sessions, or an average of 33 measures per session day.

“My concern is not my legacy as Speaker. My concern is to support President Duterte’s legacy in the year that I have as Speaker,” Arroyo told her colleagues before officially ending the plenary session on Wednesday night for their Christmas break.

“And as of [Tuesday], the House can report with confidence that we have already passed the President’s entire legislative agenda as he [had] announced in his 2018 State of the Nation Address (Sona). So you all deserve congratulations and thanks,” she added.

95 bills enacted into law

Arroyo said 95 of the 492 bills approved by the House had been enacted into law while 39 others were just waiting for Mr. Duterte’s signature.

According to the Speaker, a total of 27 bicameral conference committee reports were approved by the House and Senate panels during this period. The House also approved 22 measures on second reading and adopted 38 resolutions.

Arroyo became Speaker following a leadership coup that ousted her predecessor, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, on the day Mr. Duterte delivered his third Sona on July 23.