The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has performed more than what was expected.
Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list group made this observation as he cited the passage of multiple Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority bills.
“We have heard the Speaker say on many occasions that we passed, not only the LEDAC priority of the President, but even those that were mentioned in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year. All of them were ratified by the House,” Acidre said.
He said many of those measures were landmark legislations, such as the Government Procurement Act included in the Medium Term Economic Development Plan of President Marcos.
Acidre, chairman of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Welfare, said he expects the upcoming SONA of President Ferdinand Marcos to shed light on the Chief Executive’s priority legislations for the coming year.
Key legislative priorities passed by the House included Ease of Doing Business, Digital Internet Transaction Bill, and E-Governance Act.
The House expects the Auditing Code to get the final plenary nod, as well as the Magna Carta of Seafarers, and the Revised Government Procurement Act.
“All of these are reflective of the economic priorities of the President and also, to hopefully help improve our socio-economic standing,” Acidre added.
He also noted that inflation remains a serious concern and a top priority for the House Speaker, highlighting the actions being taken by Congress to combat rising prices.
Acidre cited the priority to amend the Rice Tariffication Law, proposing the suspension of restrictions on rice importations to stabilize cereal prices. He added that the House is focusing on improving agricultural infrastructure, especially the irrigation system, to boost the farmers’ productivity.
“The issue of price increase is more complicated than it looks, especially when we pass supply and demand. So we look at how a Juan de la Cruz can make a little extra money. We are grateful to the wage boards that are gradually looking at and reviewing our minimum wages just to make sure that our compatriots take home more (money),” Acidre said.
The social amelioration program Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) is also seen as an important initiative to ensure social security for marginalized Filipinos, he said.
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