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2:58 pm on 4 August 2021, Wednesday
A House leader said that the lower chamber has already delivered its promise to pass most of the priority measures enumerated by President Rodrigo Duterte in his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month.
House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday said the leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has passed most of the bills pitched by the president, except for two that are still pending in the chamber.
“Under Speaker Velasco’s leadership, we stayed true to our mandate and successfully passed most of the administration’s priority measures, as spelled out by President Rodrigo Duterte in his SONA. Of the twelve bills mentioned, only two are pending in the House and are expected to be prioritized once we resume sessions,” Romualdez, chairman of the House Committee on Rules, said.
The two measures left in the lower House are bills on Unified Military and Uniformed Services Personnel Separation, Retirement, and Pension Act and free legal assistance to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police facing charges arising from the performance of their official duty.
The MUP pension bill is up for second reading approval in while the free legal assistance for police and soldiers is under committee deliberation in the chamber.
Meanwhile, Romualdez said the House of Representatives has transmitted to the Senate the following SONA-priority bills: the Foreign Investments Act (HB00300), the Public Service Act (HB00078), Creating the Department of Filipinos Overseas and Foreign Employment (HB05832), E-Governance Act (HB06927), Creating the Department of Disaster Resilience (HB05989), and the proposed law Establishing Evacuation Centers in Every City and Municipality (HB08990).
Romualdez said the Retail and Trade Liberalization Act (HB00059) and the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection (HB07406) are currently under the bicameral conference deliberations.
The House also passed on the third and final reading last Wednesday, the bills that would create the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
“Despite the challenges brought about by this pandemic, we accomplished our mission with the excellence and hard work of our fellow lawmakers, staff, and employees,” Romualdez said.
The House of Representatives will suspend its session amid the impending enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila from August 6 to 20.
“Rest assured that we will work tirelessly to pass the remaining vital bills in the House once we return from the ECQ. In the meantime, let us cooperate with the IATF and authorities in ensuring that our lockdown would be worthy by getting vaccinated, observing strict health protocols, staying home, and taking care of one another,” Romualdez added.