THE House of Representatives will “work very hard” to pass the Marcos administration’s priority bills still pending at the bicameral conference committee level before the 19th Congress ends, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Monday.
He said congressmen will prioritize the approval of the remaining measures, with confidence in completing all urgent bills before Congress adjourns in two weeks.
“We have two weeks before we adjourn sine die,” he told reporters. “So, we’ll wrap up the remaining priority measures.”
Lawmakers reconvened on Monday after a nearly four-month election break, leaving them two weeks to finalize measures before a new Congress convenes in late July.
Among the bills pending at the bicam level are measures that seek to formalize a fiscal regime for the mining sector, extend land lease limits for foreign investors and improve internet connectivity nationwide.
A group of foreign business chambers had urged lawmakers to pass the priority measures before the sine die adjournment.
“We’ll work very hard to try to resolve it before the two weeks [end],” said Mr. Romualdez.
During Monday’s session, Mr. Romualdez also called on lawmakers to pass key pending legislation before Congress concludes its session, highlighting the importance of finalizing bills seen as vital to improving public service.
“Let us pass the Open Access in Data Transmission Act to make fast, reliable internet accessible to every barangay,” he said. “Let us finalize the e-governance act so that public services become faster, smarter and less prone to red tape.”
He also urged lawmakers to approve a bill providing guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), helping the government “embrace innovation while protecting ethics, privacy and human dignity.”
The House has approved 1,493 bills filed in the 19th Congress, with 280 being signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Apart from the priority measures, lawmakers are also expected to vote on third and final reading a measure seeking a P200 minimum wage hike.
Congressmen approved the bill on second reading in February, while their counterpart approved a bill seeking a P100 daily wage increase for minimum wage earners in the private sector last year.
Asked if the bill would pass the House before Congress concludes next week, Mr. Romualdez said: “We’ll see, we will leave it up to the process.”
The House Speaker should push lawmakers to approve the wage hike proposal before the end of the 19th Congress, a coalition of labor groups said in a statement.
“With only six session days left in June, every Filipino worker and their family is counting on the commitment of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and the members of the House of Representatives to be truly the House of the People,” the National Wage Coalition said.
“Workers across the nation are closely watching and placing their full trust in Congress to pass the P200 legislated wage hike before anything else because to do otherwise is not merely neglect of duty but betrayal of trust,” it said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
