President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shares a light moment with Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri following the 4th Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in the Malacañang on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (Photo from the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives)
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will continue working through the Holy Week break, even if it has acted on almost all of the priority bills set by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said.
He made this plan known during his speech before the session was adjourned on Wednesday night.
“The House remains steadfast in its commitment to serve the Filipino people. Allowing committee hearings during the break demonstrates our dedication to fulfilling our duties as legislators and addressing the needs of our constituents,” he said.
During the session, Deputy Majority Leader and Isabela 6th District Rep. Inno Dy moved to allow all committees to hold hearings if needed, even though Congress is on a break from March 21 to April 28.
Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Mendoza approved the motion after no one objected to the suggestion.
READ: House: Still a lot of work to do even after passage of priority bills, RBH 7
In his adjournment speech, Romualdez also highlighted that the House does not have any backlog on the passage of the bills mentioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his second State of the Nation Address.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have done our homework. Our accomplishments reflect our proactive stance in catering to the needs of the people by passing these much-needed legislation that are attuned to the Philippine Development Plan and the 8-Point Socio-economic Agenda under the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework of His Excellency, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr,” Romualdez said.
“Wala po tayong backlog sa trabaho. Tapos natin ang mga napagkasunduang assignment bago pa man dumating ang deadline. Ang grado natin sa LEDAC: 100 percent. Lahat nang ito, dahil sa pagkakaisa natin, sa sipag ninyong lahat, at sa malasakit na ipinakita ninyo sa trabaho at sa mamamayan,” he added.
(We do not have a backlog in our work. We finished the assignment agreed upon before the deadline came. Our grade at the LEDAC is 100 percent. All of this is because of our unity, your tireless work, and the concern you showed for your work and the people.)
“To mention a few of the notable inquiries: We inquired on the implementation gaps of various laws and policies that provide discounts, incentives and tax exemptions for senior citizens and persons with disabilities,” he noted.
Romualdez was referring to discussions about senior citizens and persons with disability discounts, as the maximum discountable was increased from P1,300 to P2,500 per week, and the promise of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to increase coverage for hospitalization and certain ailments.
READ: P125 per week discount for seniors’ grocery items takes effect in March
“Naitaas natin ang benefit package para sa breast cancer patients mula P100,000 tungo sa P1.4 million. Nagawa rin nating mai-libre ang mammogram at ultrasound exam para sa lahat ng kababaihang Pilipino para mai-ligtas sila sa sakit na kanser,” the Speaker said.
(We also facilitated the increase in the benefit package for breast cancer patients, from P100,000 to P1.4 million. We were able to ask that mammograms and ultrasound exams for all Filipino women be free to save them from cancer.)
READ: PhilHealth breast cancer coverage now at P1.4 million
READ: PhilHealth open to proposed expanded coverage in private hospitals