Lawmaker cites need for economic legislation

MANILA, Philippines — The economic agenda in the remaining three years of President Duterte’s administration is crucial to the government’s massive infrastructure program if the Philippines wants to be at par with its Asian neighbors and the world.  

“Global industrial giants see a great potential in us, but we just have to work hard to gain their trust and confidence,” said returning Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who was among the delegates in Duterte’s visit to Japan recently.

He added that the “incoming members of the 18th Congress (July 2019-July 2022) are faced with the important task of pursuing vital economic legislation needed to sustain higher productivity growth.” 

Romualdez reiterated that pursuing structural reforms at this stage means prosperity.  

“We need to focus more on institutionalizing reforms that will encourage the influx of more investments, the creation of more jobs, improvement in human capital investment, and the building of better infrastructure,” he pointed out. 

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives can help achieve the government’s objective of alleviating poverty in 2022, and for the Philippines to become a prosperous middle-class country free from poverty by 2040. 

Romualdez appealed to his fellow legislators to consider as an urgent task the approval of important legislative measures that reform the country’s relatively restrictive and less competitive economic policies.

He cited in particular the amendments to the Foreign Investments Act, Public Service Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act, which are meant to encourage investments in industry and services and boost private construction.

“We need new pieces of scientific legislation alongside improvements in communication, technology, entry of foreign investors, total expenditure on research and development, easing of start-up procedures, implementation of public sector contracts, knowledge transfer, total public expenditure on education and development and application of technology,” Romualdez said. 

“At the same time, we also have to address the urgent concerns of controlling inflation, improving the pay of workers, creating more jobs, fighting criminality, reducing poverty, fighting corruption and enhancing national security,” he added. 

Meanwhile, at least 156 members of the House of Representatives have expressed their preference and support for Romualdez should he vie for Speaker when the 18th Congress opens on July 22 this year. 

“Honestly, among us congressmen, if you ask us who do we really want as Speaker, it will definitely be Martin. It is because he’s down-to-earth, low-key and very approachable. And most importantly, he listens to us,” a House official, who was a signatory, told the STAR. 

Meantime, House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez refuted insinuations the speakership race involves millions of pesos and that it is actually a competition among tycoons whose big businesses they aim to protect. 

“Former speaker Pantaleon Alvarez won in July 2016. Did he pay? No. He paid nobody. Now, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won in July 2018. She also did not have to pay anybody,” the outgoing Quezon congressman emphasized. 

“What I will not deny is the lobbying for chairmanship of committees,” Suarez admitted. “It’s happening now. So, it’s not about money. It’s about power,” the incoming Quezon governor asserted. 

Reelected Rep. Jericho Nograles of party-list Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta said the Party-List Coalition Foundation, which has 54 members, will be a force to reckon with in the speakership race because they will be voting as a bloc. 

In an interview over TV5’s “Agenda,” he said there are 54 members of coalition, which is now headed by billionaire Rep. Mikee Romero of party-list 1Pacman. 

Nograles said they now constitute the second biggest political bloc in the House of Representatives, which is actually next to the ruling and dominant PDP-Laban party of President Duterte. 

Out of the 302 incoming members of the 18th Congress, 95 are from PDP-Laban, 54 are from party-list coalition, 37 from Nacionalista Party, 33 from Nationalist People’s Coalition, 28 from National Unity Party, 18 from Liberal Party, five from Lakas-CMD and six from the militant left-wing Makabayan bloc.

The remaining 16 belong to various political parties some of whom are independents.