Romualdez hails 18th Congress for ‘outworking’ COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — The onset of the pandemic, as unfortunate as it was, failed to prevent the House of Representatives from having a productive 18th Congress, House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez said yesterday.

Romualdez said during the three-year run of the 18th Congress from July 22, 2019 to June 3, 2022, House members filed a total of 13,526 measures. Of the number, 10,845 were bills while 2,681 were resolutions.

“I am proud to have walked these halls with all of you as we have faithfully discharged our duties to our nation and our people,” Romualdez, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats president, said following the conclusion of the 18th Congress where he also paid tribute to the tireless efforts of his colleagues, House officials and staff in the performance of their mandate to serve and protect the people and restore good governance.

A total of 1,618 measures were approved by the House of Representatives from July 2019 to June 2022 under the leaderships of former speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and outgoing Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

As of June 1, a total of 311 received President Duterte’s signature and were enacted into law. A total 119 of the laws were national in scope, while 192 were local.

The World Health Organization announced the onset of the COVID pandemic in March 2020. As such, a number of laws enacted were specifically crafted to address the ill-effects brought by the pandemic.

The most significant of these COVID response laws were the Bayanihan 1 and 2, which allowed the release of billions of pesos to fight the effects of the pandemic and more importantly protect citizens from the disease.

“While almost everybody were forced to stay in their homes for safety during the community quarantine, House members, officials and employees went out of their way to report for work and perform their duties diligently,” Romualdez said.

Another 759 measures – 310 national bills, 448 local bills, and one Resolution of Both Houses – were passed on third and final reading during the 18th Congress, according to Romualdez.

Another 13 bills – eight national and local – were approved on second reading, he said.

Romualdez said the filing of 1,497 committee reports showed how active the House committees were even during the pandemic when the lawmakers had to make do with virtual or digital processes instead of traditional face-to-face meetings.

“Together with president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., we, the incoming members of the 19th Congress look forward to working in a post-pandemic setting so we may put forward our 100 percent effort in helping the country rise from the effects of COVID-19. The Marcos administration is fully aware of this humongous challenge,” Romualdez said. “The answer, as ably demonstrated by the 18th Congress, is unity, perseverance, and compassion.”