Camille Naredo

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. Handout/DepEd

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026.
Marcos inspected Romana Acharon Elementary School and General Santos City National High School, which were damaged by the strong quake. Marcos also took the opportunity to check on affected educators and personnel.
DepEd Handout

Article (news)

MINDANAO EARTHQUAKE- GEN SAN- SCHOOLS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178508611570120260610-earthquake-gensan-damaged-schools-DepEd.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. Handout/DepEd"/>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. Handout/DepEd</div>MANILA — About half of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s legislative priorities have been passed into law after his over 4 years in power, but the crucial bills that would spur key reforms still remain pending, an analyst said ahead of the Chief Executive&#x27;s second to the last State of the Nation Address (SONA).Since Marcos was elected as the Philippines&#x27; 17th President in 2022 until his midterm in 2025, Congress passed 40 of some 90 measures that were part of his administration&#x27;s legislative priorities.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/24/house-passed-half-of-52-ledac-priority-bills-but-only-one-enacted-so-far-0118">READ: House passed half of 52 LEDAC priority bills, but only one enacted so far</a></div>Data from the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council showed these as the following:<div> </div><div>ENACTED COMMON LEGISLATIVE AGENDA</div><div>AS OF FEBRUARY 2026</div>1. SIM Card Registration Act2. Postponement of Barangay/SK Elections3. Strengthening Professionalism in the AFP4. New Agrarian Emancipation Act5. Maharlika Investment Fund6. Regional Specialty Hospitals7. Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act8. Automatic Income Classification of LGUs9. Public-Private Partnership Code of the Philippines10. Internet Transactions Act11. Ease of Paying Taxes Act12. Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act13. New Philippine Passport Act14. Philippine Salt Industry Development Act15. Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS)16. Negros Island Region17. Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act18. New Government Procurement Act (NGPA)19. Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act (AFASA)20. Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers21. Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act22. Value-Added Tax (VAT) on Digital Services Law23. Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Revitalization Act24. Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Act25. Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act 26. Philippine Maritime Zones Act 27. Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act28. Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act29. Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law30. Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act31. Free Legal Assistance for Military and Uniformed Personnel32. Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA): Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Extension33. Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA)*34. Government Optimization Act**35. Konektadong Pinoy Act36. Amendments to the Foreign Investors&#x27; Long-Term Lease Act37. Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime38. E-Governance Act39. Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way (ARROW) Act40. Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP)<div> </div>Of these measures, 8 are linked to public finance and taxation, 5 each for government streamlining and ease of doing business, 4 were designed to enhance the country&#x27;s digitalization and communications, while the rest addressed issues in defense, agriculture, tourism, culture, health, labor, education, energy and environment.&quot;Ang presidential wishlist kasi ay ginagamit ng ating mga pangulo upang matutukan yung kanilang mga priorities,&quot; political scientist Arjan Aguirre told ABS-CBN News.&quot;Dito nangangailangan sila ng tulong sa legislative branch at dito sa paglalahad ng kanilang panukalang batas sa isang fiscal year,&quot; he said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/27/anti-political-dynasty-law-won-t-be-enough-analyst-says-1656">READ: Anti-political dynasty law won&#x27;t be enough, analyst says</a></div>Since the establishment of the LEDAC in the 90s, Marcos is by far the president with the 4th most number of priority measures passed, Aguirre said, noting that many of Marcos&#x27; priority measures that have yet to be passed are controversial bills.Among these are the anti-political dynasty bill and that party-list system reform act that are expected to affect the political careers of legislators, and the abolition of the travel tax, which has drawn in billions of pesos in revenue for the Philippine government.<div> </div>The full list is as follows:<div>Priority bills for passage by June 2026:</div>1. Anti-Political Dynasty Law2. Party-list System Reform Act3. Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act4. Independent People&#x27;s Commission Act5. Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law / Banking Reform for Integrity, Good Governance, Honesty, and Transparency (BRIGHT) Act6. Right to Information Act7. Amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act8. Amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act9. Amendments to the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act10. Amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act11. Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act12. Amendments to the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act13. National Center for Geriatric Health Act14. Waste-to-Energy Bill / Waste Treatment Technology Act15. Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) – Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill16. Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law / Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act17. Department of Water Resources Bill18. Estate Tax Amnesty19. Travel Tax Abolition20. Anti-Fake News and Disinformation Act21. Resetting the First Regular Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)<div> </div><div>Remaining common legislative agenda bills:</div>1. National Land Use Act2. Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics3. Blue Economy Act4. Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act5. Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act6. Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act7. Amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act8. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act9. Amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act10. Amendments to the Teachers Professionalization Act11. Amendments to the Local Government Code (LGC)12. General Tax Amnesty13. Amendments to the Fisheries Code14. Amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law15. Amendments to the Biofuels Act16. Cybersecurity Act17. Amendments to the National Building Code18. Amendments to the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)19. National Reintegration Bill20. Reprogramming of Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG)21. Digital Payments Act22. Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND)23. Requiring Civil Servants to Waive Bank Secrecy24. Law on Online Gambling25. Disaster Risk Financing Insurance26. Strengthening the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA)27. Presidential Merit Scholarship Program28. Disqualifying Relatives of Officials (4th degree) in Government Contracts29. Fair Use of Social Media, AI and Internet Technology in Elections30. Modernizing the Bureau of Immigration31. Magna Carta for Barangays<div> </div>Aguirre attributed the slow passage of several priority bills to the Philippines&#x27; bicameral congressional set-up, wherein a measure needs to get the approval of both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be enacted into law.&quot;Itong dalawang chamber na ito ay minsan nagiging isang obstacle sa pag pasa ng batas,&quot; he said.&quot;Isa din ditong factor ay yung mismong coalition cohesion na mayroon sa isang presidential system. Mayroon kasing effect kung napapabilis ang pagpasa ng batas depende kung gaano kasolido ang kanilang kowalisyon so minsan naman hindi ito nagiging tulong sa kanila,&quot; he said.The Philippines&#x27; legislative calendar has also been an impediment in some cases as Congress tends to go on weeks-long breaks during Holy Week, summer and Christmas, Aguirre said.Add to that the politics and power struggles within the two chambers, he said.&quot;Naging major obstacle ay yung napipintong impeachment noong panahon na mayroon pa silang regular session,&quot; he said.&quot;Ngayon na on recess sila, nakatutok lahat sa impeachment so ang kanilang intensyon ay nasa impeachment,&quot; he added.Marcos needs to fast track the passage of his remaining priority bills that remain pending in the legislative mill, Aguirre said, noting that foreign investors are also keeping tabs on the pending economic measures.&quot;May epekto din ito sa ating mga investors ddahil mayroon din silang mga pagbabago na gustong makita sa ating bansa,&quot; the political scientist said.&quot;Kung itong mga pagbabago, mga changes, mga reforms, mga legislative measures na ito ay hindi magagawa sa isang fiscal year o kaya ay sa isang Congress, kadalasan humihina ang confidence ng ating mga investors,&quot; he said.While Aguirre has been monitoring the passage rate of Marcos&#x27; legislative priorities, the analyst reminds the public that it is more important to keep a close eye on how the Chief Executive has been implementing those that have already been passed into law.

About half of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s legislative priorities have been passed into law after his over 4 years in power, but the crucial bills that would spur key reforms still remain pending, an analyst said.

About half of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s legislative priorities have been passed into law after his over 4 years in power, but the crucial bills that would spur key reforms still remain pending, an analyst said.

With 2 years left, Marcos sees half of legislative agenda passed, but key reforms still pending: analyst

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With 2 years left, Marcos sees half of legislative agenda passed, but key reforms still pending: analyst

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 27, 2026 01:21 AM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

SONA 2026

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