Adopt pro-poor agenda, Congress told

Speaker Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr. urged the incoming set of lawmakers to be elected on Monday to adopt a social reform agenda that would address pro-poor issues that propelled the recent so-called People Power III.

"Congress can both legislate such an ambitious social agenda and support it with full budgetary allocation," Belmonte said during the regular weekly flag-raising ceremony at the House of Representatives.

Belmonte is a third-term congressman who is finishing his tenure as Speaker and lawmaker next month. He is running for Quezon City mayor under the administration’s People Power Coalition.

He said President Arroyo herself has promised to look into the issues which brought together urban and rural poor at the EDSA Shrine two weeks ago.

"Beyond the rhetoric at the EDSA Shrine and Mendiola is a new social ferment seething with pro-poor advocacy, which must be met headlong to show that there is hope in the system," he said.

He said the House of Representatives is the place where change can be initiated. "Let’s not wait for reform to start in the streets," he added.

The Speaker commended all democratic institutions for upholding the Constitution. "The House is a personification of the Constitution, and if we are loyal to the House, we are also loyal to the Constitution," he said. – Jess Diaz