Speaker vows hectic last days

Speaker Sonny Belmonte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The House of Representatives will “maximize the remaining work days to deal with significant business” as the nation heads into the election year.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday pledged that the 288-member chamber would remain “united and focused on serving the highest welfare and interests of the Filipino people,” in spite of quorum problems that plagued the House in the latter half of 2015.

“We will never renege on our constitutional mandate to promote good governance and protect the national interest and our people’s welfare, despite the time constraint now faced by the 16th Congress,” he said in a statement.

The House leader said he remained confident about the prospects of passing priority bills such as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) bill, and the amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution.

But the lower chamber has a very limited time to do this. Based on the legislative calendar of the 16th Congress, it has only between Jan. 19 and Feb. 5  to hold plenary sessions before adjourning for the campaign period.

After that, Congress work shall resume on May 22.

Earlier this month, Belmonte said the House was more concerned about the quality than the quantity of measures passed in plenary.

“We are focused on quality. We just did what was needed by our people and the future generations of Filipinos,” he said.