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House Speaker Martin Romualdez presides over the opening of the third regular session of the 19th Congress at the House of Representatives on July 22, 2024. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News

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Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1721625030428Romualdez-call-to-order.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="House Speaker Martin Romualdez presides over the opening of the third regular session of the 19th Congress at the House of Representatives on July 22, 2024. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News" style="width:960px"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">House Speaker Martin Romualdez presides over the opening of the third regular session of the 19th Congress at the House of Representatives on July 22, 2024. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The House of Representatives officially opened the third regular session of the 19th Congress with 262 members responding to the roll call and a commitment from its speaker to maintain &quot;legislative momentum&quot; on priority measures that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lay down in his State of the Nation Address on Tuesday afternoon.</p><p>House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who presided over the session, also assured the public that the lower chamber is holding comprehensive congressional investigations into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and the illegal drug trade<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"> &quot;to identify and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.&quot;</span></p><div><strong>PRIORITY MEASURES</strong></div><p>The House leader urged his colleagues to extend their usual cooperation and swift action in passing the priority measures before the end of the third regular session.</p><p>Measures that are not passed by then will need to be refiled at the 20th Congress.</p><p>On top of the list is the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, which the lower chamber targets to pass by September.</p><p>Romualdez explained this is crucial to fund affordable housing projects, education, agriculture, welfare programs and employment generation initiatives.</p><p>Other remaining priority measures identified in the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council meeting, which the House targets to pass within the third regular session are the Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act, the Amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law, and the Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. </p><p>Romualdez issued a commitment that the House of Representatives will maintain “legislative momentum despite the approaching national elections in 2025”.</p><div><a href="http://Escudero shuns cha-cha, divisive measures as Senate opens Third Regular Session">RELATED: Escudero shuns cha-cha, divisive measures as Senate opens Third Regular Session</a></div><p>He said third-termer House members can look at the third regular session of the 19th Congress as &quot;<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">the final stretch to offer and deliver what is most beneficial for your constituents&quot; while reelectionists have a chance to prove themselves again to their districts and sectors.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">&quot;</span>Regardless of the objective, we are all gunning for the same outcome — victory, for the Filipino people, our nation, and the generations to come — and we continue to march toward that goal now,” he told his colleagues at the lower House.</p><p>&quot;Let us give the Filipino people what they deserve, and they deserve more,&quot; the House Speaker added.</p><p>Of the 17 priority measures that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. identified in his 2023 State of the Nation Address, five have been enacted while another is due for the President&#x27;s signature.</p><p>Another is under deliberation by the bicameral conference committee, and the remaining 10 have been approved on third and final reading by the lower house.</p><p>Romualdez stressed that this is equivalent to a 100% approval byt the House of the 2023 SONA priorities. </p><p>He attributed this to the setting aside of “pride, ambitions, and differences” by the House members.</p><p>“Lahat ng kailangang batas na hiniling ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. Sa nakaraang State of the NationAaddress, pasado na po lahat dito sa House of Representatives,” Romualdez said.</p><p>“We have done our homework. We addressed concerns on food security, climate change, social protection, tourism, public health, public order and safety, among others,” he added.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/21/marcos-jr-rehearses-speech-in-malacanang-ahead-of-sona-2024-1843">READ: Marcos Jr. rehearses speech in Malacañang ahead of SONA 2024</a></div><div><strong>READY FOR SONA</strong></div><p>During Monday’s session, the lower chamber of Congress approved several resolutions to pave the way for Marcos Jr.&#x27;s third State of the Nation Address before a joint session of Congress at 4 p.m.</p><p>These include House Resolution No. 1799, which informs the Senate that a quorum is present at the House of Representatives and that it has entered upon the exercise of its functions, House Resolution No. 1800, informing the President that the House of Representatives has entered upon the exercise of its functions, and House Concurrent Resolution No. 27, which provides for the Senate and the House of Representatives to hold a joint session for the SONA.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LSdzlsNy9aw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Speaker Romualdez urged his colleagues to extend their usual cooperation and swift action in passing the priority measures before the end of the third regular session.</p>

Speaker Romualdez urged his colleagues to extend their usual cooperation and swift action in passing the priority measures before the end of the third regular session.

House commits to keeping 'legislative momentum' on priority bills

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House commits to keeping 'legislative momentum' on priority bills

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 22, 2024 01:23 PM PHT

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