Speaker: House to focus on 11 priority measures

House Speaker Martin Romualdez  (Photo from his Facebook page)

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Martin Romualdez on Sunday assured Filipinos that the House of Representatives would focus on passing the 11 remaining priority administration measures and ensuring the timely enactment of the P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget.

The speaker made the assurance after a five-week congressional break, on the eve of the resumption of Congress’ second regular session which will resume on Monday and last until Dec. 15.

Romualdez said that Congress’ ultimate goal is to make sure the 2024 general appropriations bill (GAB) is signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by the end of the year, pointing out that “the budget is the lifeblood of our nation’s progress and development.”

“The House is fully dedicated to the task at hand, ensuring that the national budget is ratified and enacted on time to guarantee the continuity of essential services, support economic growth, and promote the well-being of our citizens,” he added.

P194B realigned

On Saturday, the bigger chamber turned over to the Senate the approved 2024 GAB, with P194.5 billion in realignments for security, inflation protection, and food security.

Meanwhile, Romualdez vowed that the House would tackle the remaining 11 key legislative priorities outlined in both the priority list of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council and Mr. Marcos’ State of the Nation Address last July.

Following are the  11 draft measures:

• Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission
• Tatak-Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act
• Blue Economy Law
• Budget Reforms Modernization
• National Defense Act
• New Government Auditing Code
• Philippine Defense Industry Development Act
• the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge/Road User’s Tax
• amendments to Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira)
• Government Procurement Reform Act
• amendment of the Cooperative Code

The bills on the proposed Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission, Tatak-Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act, and Blue Economy Law have all been approved by their assigned committees and are awaiting inputs from the committee on appropriations.

Vital bills

Seven other bills are still under committee deliberations. They are the proposed amendments to the Epira or Republic Act No. 9136, Government Procurement Reform Act, amendment of the Cooperative Code, proposed Budget Reforms Modernization Act, National Defense Act, New Government Auditing Code, Philippine Defense Industry Development Act and the proposed Motor Vehicle User’s Charge/Road User’s Tax.

Romualdez made this assurance: “We are resolute in our mission to fulfill our legislative duties and responsibilities,” adding, that “our primary focus continues to be the legislative agenda outlined by President Marcos, and we are fully committed to working diligently to pass these vital bills for the betterment of our nation.”