Bulacan 5th District Rep. Agatha Paula Cruz
THE House of Representatives is ready to host a simple, dignified and focused State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday and sustain work on the administration’s remaining priority measures despite the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, Bulacan 5th District Rep. Agatha Paula Cruz said Saturday.
Cruz said the program would keep attention on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s report on the state of the country and the legislative direction he would set for the coming year.
“Lahat po sinasabi, it should be simple but dignified, at iyan po iyong sinusundan,” Cruz said at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Both the House and the Office of the President had earlier agreed on a simpler program without a red carpet or long gowns. Cruz said lawmakers were asked to wear simple Filipino attire suited to the solemn constitutional occasion.
“Talagang iyong reminder po sa amin: wear simple attire, Filipiniana attire. Iyon lang po iyong naging directive para manatili iyong focus doon sa pinaka-agenda po ng SONA,” she said.
Cruz said the House was waiting to hear the President’s assessment and the policies that Congress would be asked to support through legislation.
“We are awaiting, of course, for the vision that will be set out by our President. We are here to make sure that the priorities of our President, the agenda of our President, ay masuportahan po natin ng mga kinakailangang batas,” she said.
The SONA will coincide with the opening of the Second Regular Session of the 20th Congress. Cruz said the House had approved 26 of the 52
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) measures under the common legislative agenda during the First Regular Session.
“Out of the First Regular Session po natin, nakapagpasa na po ang House of Representatives ng 26 out of the 52. So more than half po iyong aming accomplished, pero siyempre hindi po tayo hihinto doon,” Cruz said.
Among the priority proposals identified by Cruz were the Right to Information Act and anti-political dynasty legislation, as well as measures addressing nutrition, education, tertiary assistance, teachers’ welfare, classroom construction and the strengthening of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
She said several unfinished proposals were already in advanced committee deliberations, while measures with substantial funding requirements still needed appropriations review.
“While we feel the urgency, we don’t also want to sacrifice the necessity of making sure that it goes through all different levels of stakeholder engagement,” Cruz said.
She stressed that legislative accomplishment should ultimately be measured by the quality and effect of enacted laws, not merely by the number of bills approved.
Cruz also said public demands for stronger action against corruption must be translated into Executive and legislative action. She cited civil-society participation, livestreaming, more transparent budget deliberations and legislative oversight as mechanisms that could be strengthened when Congress resumes.
“We have to put our words into action, and it is an ongoing effort from all branches of our government,” she said.
On infrastructure spending, Cruz said implementing departments should be responsible for monitoring projects under their respective mandates, while the House must exercise oversight to determine whether public funds are used properly.
The new session, she said, would allow lawmakers and civil-society organizations to scrutinize how government programs were implemented and how their budgets were spent.
Cruz maintained that the impeachment proceedings would not prevent Congress from performing its legislative responsibilities.
“The House has been very productive in passing the majority priority common legislative agenda of our President,” she said.
She expressed confidence that the Senate could continue its work both as a legislative chamber and as an impeachment court while the House builds on its legislative momentum.
“Ang aming role, once magbukas po ang session, ay gamitin itong legislative momentum na ito para siguraduhin na itong final na mga assignment ay amin na po talagang matapos,” Cruz said.
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