Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte —File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines – Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., who is the president of the National Unity Party (NUP), pledged his support on Sunday for the legislative agenda President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez for 2025.
NUP leaders, including Villfuerte, were among the party leaders Marcos met with last August to discuss the strategy for the national and local elections this coming May.
READ: ‘Unity pa rin’: Party leaders meet at Malacañang for 2025 strategy
“The NUP will, in the year ahead, remain fully supportive of the Speaker and of the legislative agenda of Mr. Marcos,” Villafuerte said in a statement.
“Spelling better lives for all Filipinos, as committed by the President, has been and continues to be, the priority of the 307-strong House of Representatives on the Speaker’s watch, hence the need for greater unity in lieu of political discord,” he added.
Villafuerte made his pledge as the 19th Congress is set to conclude this year.
In closing 2024, Romualdez projected that Congress would “finish strong” in passing the Marcos administration’s priority measures at the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).
READ: Speaker: 19th Congress to finish strong in passing LEDAC priority bills
Further, Romualdez said that, since the 19th Congress began on July 25, 2022, it had passed 1,368 measures that had already been approved, including 166 that became republic acts — 73 national laws and 93 local laws — as well as 1,319 committee reports.
READ: House files 13,454 measures since 2022, says Speaker Romualdez
“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,” Villafuerte said, referring to Romualdez, who is Leyte 1st District representative.
His office added in the statement: “Villafuerte sees a finer year ahead for Filipinos this 2025 as the socio-economic reform agenda of President Marcos starts taking bigger strides toward much higher public spending on infrastructure, social protection and other priority programs.”
READ: Marcos signs P6.3 trillion 2025 national budget, vetoes P194 billion
The House is set to resume session on Jan. 13.