New House supermajority proof of unity – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — With a supermajority of 285 lawmakers rallying behind Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Marcos’ call for unity has become a legislative reality grounded on reform, stability and meaningful public service, Quezon Rep. David Suarez said yesterday.

“This is the most cohesive and confident House we have seen in decades. It is not just a supermajority in numbers, but a supermajority borne out of trust, built on performance and held together by the strong, principled and competent leadership of Speaker Romualdez,” Suarez said.

As of Monday, 279 of 285 lawmakers supporting Romualdez as leader of the 20th Congress have signed a manifesto of support.

The House of Representatives is expected to have 317 members following the midterm elections.

Convergence of party-list groups such as the Liberal Party, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. is a manifestation of institutional faith in a leadership that reshaped the role of Congress, Suarez said.

Under Romualdez’s leadership, Suarez said the 19th Congress achieved legislative milestones that few previous assemblies can match.

From July 2022 to May 2025, the House processed about 14 measures per session day and passed over 230 laws.

Suarez said the House completed the entire common legislative agenda of the Marcos administration, ensuring that most priority bills of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council were approved on time.

Among the major measures enacted in the 19th Congress, he said, were the Maharlika Investment Fund, Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, Magna Carta for Seafarers and New Agrarian Emancipation Act.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also lauded Romualdez, citing unprecedented support for the long-overdue rehabilitation of Marawi City, which was devastated during the 2017 siege by Islamic State-aligned terrorists.