Romualdez says House to work double time in 2023 to help economy recover

Speaker Martin Romualdez. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives would work even more in 2023 to ensure that the country’s economy continues on its path to recovery, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Thursday.

Romualdez in a statement claimed that if the House works double-time, it can craft laws that would eventually translate to better living conditions for Filipinos.

The Speaker said this after Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that while there may be a mild global recession in 2023, the worst is already over for the  Philippines, as the country can expect sustained development marked by a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of over 7.5 percent on a year-on-year basis.

“We, in the House of Representatives, welcome the good news from our Finance Secretary that the worst is over for the Philippines and better years are expected,” Romualdez said.

“This definitely inspires us to work double-time when we resume session next year, pushing us to legislate more laws needed to further boost the economy and improve the living condition of our people,” he added.

READ: ‘Worst is over’ for PH; 2023 growth targets stay–Diokno 

In the outlook released on Wednesday, Diokno said that while several institutions downgraded the Philippines’ projected GDP growth for 2023, they believe that a 6.5 percent growth is already good considering that this makes the country ahead of its peers in the Asean region.

Still, Diokno is optimistic that the country can easily beat the projected 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent GDP growth, citing quick actions by Congress on different measures — like the recently-signed 2023 national budget and the first-ever Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for 2023-2028.

Romualdez meanwhile thanked members of the House for working diligently on the first months of the 19th Congress.  However, he said that the following measures — marked as priority by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) — that needs to be passed:

• The Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry
• Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)
• The Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension
• The E-Governance Act and E-Government Act
• The National Land Use Act
• The National Defense Act
• The National Government Rightsizing Program
• The Budget Modernization Bill
• The Department of Water Resources
• Establishing the Negros Island Region
• Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers
• The Establishment of Regional Specialty Hospitals