The “very good” net satisfaction rating that the House of Representatives recently received has encouraged its members to work even harder to pass the remaining priority bills identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), lawmakers said.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the SWS survey results are “very encouraging,” and would serve as an inspiration for him and his House colleagues to work even harder.
Romualdez, in a statement, commended his peers in the House of Representatives following the “very good” net satisfaction rating the lower chamber received in the December 10 to 14 survey of SWS.
“This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our legislators in serving the Filipino people during these challenging times. As the leader of the House of Representatives, I am proud of our members and their commitment to advancing pro-people legislative measures,” Romualdez said.
The House, along with the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. all scored a “very good” net satisfaction rating in the survey. It scored a +56 rating, next to the Senate with +68, while the SC and the Cabinet scored +53 and +50 respectively.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to help realize the 8-point socioeconomic agenda of President Marcos and deliver on our mandate to provide meaningful and responsive solutions meant to uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” Romualdez added.
During the six-week congressional break from March 23 to May 7, Romualdez has authorized House committees to continue working to process pending measures.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. attributed the high public satisfactory ratings of the chamber to a hardworking set of leaders and a competent set of members who made it a priority to pass important pieces of legislation for the welfare of the nation and the people.
“If our leaders are busy, we are all busy. We take after the example of our beloved Speaker. We move at his pace. This is the reason the House of Representatives has been very productive in passing bills and resolutions, owing in no small part to its leaders,” Barzaga said.
“I am very glad that the Filipino people recognize our hard work here in the House of Representatives. But let me clarify that we do not work to get recognition. We work because it is our sworn duty and mandate,” Barzaga said.
“And also, this is due to the goals and objectives set by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his first State of the Nation Address. I think we are almost done with his legislative priorities,” he added.
Before the Lenten season break of the House last month, the chamber approved on third and final reading 23 of 31 bills identified by the LEDAC as priority measures of the Marcos administration.
Signed into law by the President are two measures: the SIM Registration Act now in effect and the bill postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October this year.
Aside from these, there are 20 other LEDAC-endorsed bills—collectively known as the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) of Malacañang and Congress—that were approved on third and final reading: Magna Carta of Seafarers, Negros Island Region, E-Governance Act / E-Government Act, Virology, Institute of the Philippines, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, National Disease Prevention Management Authority or Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Passport Act; Internet Transaction Act/E-Commerce Law, Waste-to-Energy Bill, Free Legal Assistance for Police and Soldiers, Apprenticeship Act, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, Valuation Reform, Eastern Visayas Development Authority, Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery, National Citizens Service Training Program, and Rightsizing the National Government.
One LEDAC bill, the Agrarian Reform Debts Condonation, is now up for approval by the bicameral conference committee.
The eight other LEDAC bills pending in the House are the: Regional Specialty Hospitals (for second reading approval), Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry (under technical working group or TWG deliberation), National Land Use Act (TWG); Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission (TWG), Electric Power Industry Reform Act (for committee deliberation), Budget Modernization (for committee deliberation), National Defense Act (for committee deliberation), and Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension for Uniformed Personnel (also for committee deliberation).
“I am almost certain that the House of Representatives will hit the ground running in passing these remaining measures of the LEDAC, once sessions resume in May. And during the break, the Speaker has even authorized committees to conduct hearings. So we can still work during recess,” Barzaga said.
For his part, Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers said, “this is a solid satisfaction rating that shows that the majority of Filipinos like what they see in Speaker Martin Romualdez and the bigger House in general. We have done our work quietly, but efficiently. We don’t need any fanfare to get things done.”
House Committee on Appropriations Chairman and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co said “this truth can’t be denied: Speaker Romualdez is one of the busiest leaders not only in Congress, but in the government as well. He is virtually everywhere —speaking engagements, high-level meetings, economic roadshows and the like.”
“Being a former majority leader, Romualdez keenly understands how legislation works here in the House of Representatives. He knows how to expedite the passage of the measure without sacrificing the quality of the work,” Co said.