Speaker takes firm grip of House leadership

Romualdez inks alliance with major parties

MANILA, Philippines — Stalwarts of several political parties under the supermajority coalition of the administration of President Marcos have officially formalized and further solidified their alliance in the House of Representatives amid rumors of ouster plots.

Speaker Martin Romualdez, president of the 71-member and dominant Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) party that catapulted his cousin to the presidency last year, managed to gather bigwigs of several parties to sign a manifesto of “strong alliance” for Marcos as well as the House leadership.

Romualdez welcomed early Monday evening the signing of the alliance agreement, saying it is a clear signal of their unwavering commitment to work together for the passage of the President’s legislative agenda.

“It also emphasizes the importance of unity and cooperation among all political parties. This is a critical message at a time when the country is facing
a number of challenges,” the representative of Leyte’s first district said.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. By working together, we can help address these challenges and build a better future for our fellow Filipinos,” he added, although he did not mention in his press statement about alleged destabilization plots.

Former president and current Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was demoted two weeks ago on suspicion that she hatched a plot to oust the Speaker, was conspicuously absent in all of the pictures and videos showing the signing of the parties’ alliance in the chamber.

Marcos’ congressman-son, Senior House Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, who represents the first district of the family’s home province of Ilocos Norte, witnessed all of the signing ceremonies.

The supermajority coalition, composed of about 270 members of the 312-man House, agreed to “give their full and unqualified support” to Marcos, which includes his “legislative agenda,” and vowed as well to give their “full and unqualified support to Speaker Romualdez.”

Among those who signed the manifesto were Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who is also the president of the 54-member Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc.; Romblon Lone District Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona of the Villar-led Nacionalista Party; Deputy Speaker and Antipolo 1st District Rep. Robbie Puno of the National Unity Party; House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, who is also the Lakas-CMD executive vice president and Rizal 1st District Rep. Michael John Duavit, who is also the president of the formerly Danding Cojuangco-led Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. of the PDP-Laban; Navotas Lone District Rep. Toby Tiangco, who is also the chairman of Partido Navoteño and Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who is also the president of Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines, are also signatories of the manifesto.

All of the party stalwarts who represented various political parties at the House have reaffirmed their strong alliance with Lakas-CMD and have vowed support for Marcos’ legislative agenda and Romualdez in the 19th Congress, which convenes until June 2025.

Pending measures

Meanwhile, only nine pending measures are left for the House to approve following last Monday’s approval of two bills, bringing to 33 pieces of legislation OK’d out of the 42 priority bills that Marcos wanted passed.

The two Palace-certified bills that have been approved on third and final reading were House Bills 8203, or the proposed Immigration Modernization Act, which obtained 287 votes; and 8278, or the proposed Philippine Salt Industry Development Act, which garnered the same number of affirmative votes.

“We are inching toward accomplishing our goal of approving all of these priority measures, thanks to the hard and tireless work of our colleagues,” Romualdez said.

So far, the lower chamber has now approved a total of 33 of the 42 Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC)-certified bills, since the 19th Congress convened in July last year, when Marcos took over the presidency.

“We are doing our part in supporting the President’s socio-economic development agenda by passing these urgent proposed pieces of legislation that would sustain our economic growth and create more job and income opportunities for our people,” Romualdez said.

House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, the author who originally introduced the Bureau of Immigration (BI) Modernization bill in 2004, re-filed the bill last year upon his election as representative of the 4Ps party-list.

“We are counting on the full automation and digitization of the BI’s processes and services to reinforce border security and improve travel experience,” Libanan, one of the principal authors of the bill, said.

He served as immigration commissioner during the Arroyo administration, when he was also the representative of the lone district of Eastern Samar in Congress.

Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. LRay Villafuerte said HB 8278 is aimed at revitalizing the salt industry and is expected to “put flesh into President Marcos’ goal for the moribund sector to get back on its feet under his watch.”

“This aims to revitalize this once thriving industry whose current domestic production has plunged so low that the archipelagic Philippines with its expansive coastlines now imports about 90 percent of its annual salt requirement,” Villafuerte said.

Other bills that made it to third and final reading were HBs 7819, or the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act; 8144, which provides a 20-year jail-term for tax racketeering; 7942, which establishes an agricultural information system in all cities and towns across the country; 198, or the proposed Revised Warehouse Receipts Act that will amend and modernize the more-than-100-year-old Republic Act 2137, or the Warehouse Receipts Law of 1912; 451, or the proposed Corporate Social Responsibility Act; 8204, which will provide for the regulatory framework to conserve, protect and restore wetlands to enhance the country’s resilience to climate change; 7941, or the proposed Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Act and 8325, or the proposed Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital Act, which received an overwhelming 255 votes from lawmakers on third and final reading in the House plenary and will soon give rise to an OFW Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga.