SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Monday took pride in the legislative accomplishments of the House of Representatives, saying the positive impact of laws passed by the 19th Congress and signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is now being felt by Filipinos.
“Lahat ng kailangang batas na hiniling ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. sa nakaraang State-of-the Nation Address, pasado na po lahat dito sa House of Representatives,” he told his colleagues at the start of the third and last regular session of Congress.
“We have done our homework. We addressed concerns on food security, climate change, social protection, tourism, public health, public order and safety, among others,” he said.
“In fact, the fruits of our overarching development agenda initiatives for the past two years are now slowly being felt across the nation,” he said.
To prove his point, the leader of the 300-plus members House cited the country’s economic performance in recent years.
From the third quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2024, he said the economy grew by an average of 6.1 percent.
For the first quarter of 2024 alone, the Philippine economy outperformed Indonesia (5.1 percent), Malaysia (4.2 percent), Singapore (2.7 percent) and Thailand (1.5 percent), he said.
He noted that last May, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) projected that the country’s growth target of 6-7 percent this year is achievable with the implementation of appropriate government policies.
“As a result, the country is expected to continue outperforming most emerging economies and expand further to a range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2025,” Romualdez said.
He said such forecast is not far from the growth projections for the Philippines in 2025 by key international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (6.2 percent), the Asian Development Fund (6.1 percent) and the World Bank (5.9 percent).
“I believe, dear colleagues, that the policies have all been put in place and the gains of a competent, focused, and thorough legislative process are now bringing significant improvements to our economy,” Speaker Romualdez added.
He said as a result of the Philippines’ continued economic expansion, respected credit rating firm Fitch Ratings affirmed last month the country’s investment-grade long-term foreign currency trading at “BBB” rating with a stable outlook.
“This indicates the country’s robust medium-term growth and suggests a reduced credit risk. It also states that our ability to meet financial obligations is sufficient. This can be attributed, in part, to the pursuit of priorities such as the Build-Better-More infrastructure program and investments in Public-Private Partnerships,” he said.
“Malinaw po ang estado ng ating ekonomiya. Matibay at matatag. Pinag-titiwalaan hindi lamang sa loob ng ating bansa kundi maging sa buong mundo,” the House leader stressed.
He pointed out that the accomplishments of the House “reflect our proactive stance in catering to the needs of the people by passing these much-needed legislation that are attuned to the Philippine Development Plan and the Eight-Point Socio-economic Agenda under the Medium-term Fiscal Framework of the President.”
He informed his colleagues and the nation that since the start of the first regular session in July 2022, the House of Representatives has been instrumental in the swift passage of 77 laws, many of which are of national importance.
He said during the second regular session alone, a total of 58 laws were enacted, which he added was “a result of your outstanding consensus-building and resolute efforts to accomplish the tasks at hand.”
The enacted laws include the recently signed two landmark measures: Republic Act No. 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act, which introduces crucial reforms that safeguards public funds, eliminate corruption, and foster a more competitive and fair procurement environment; and Republic Act No. 12010 or the Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act, which strengthens our financial system by preventing fraud and promoting trust among consumers, businesses, and investors.
Romualdez mentioned the other enacted laws, including Republic Act No. 11976, or the Ease of Paying Taxes, Act, Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 (RA 11954), Extending the Availment of Tax Amnesty (RA 11956), One Town One Product Philippines Act (RA 11960), Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act (RA 11962), Public-Private Partnership Code of the Philippines (RA 11966);
Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (RA 11967), Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act (RA 11981), RA 11995 or Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System Act, RA 12006 or Free College Entrance Examinations Act, RA 11984 or No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act, and RA 11997 or Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.
The House leader reported that the House achieved a 100-percent approval on third and final reading of all the 17 priority measures identified by the President in the 2023 State of the Nation Address.
