THE Senate and the House of Representatives will separately open today (Monday) the first regular session of the 19th Congress, with the expected election of the new Senate President and Speaker, and initial listing of their respective priority measures.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said majority of members of the House of Representatives are expected to overwhelmingly elect Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker in the morning opening session, or hours before the joint session of Congress hears President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. deliver his first State of the Nation Address.
Following tradition, aside from electing its new Speaker on its first day of session, the House is expected to vote for its other officers, including some deputy speakers and committee chairmen, and the chamber’s secretary general and sergeant-at-arms.
Gonzales said Reginald Velasco, who served as deputy secretary general and spokesman of National Unity Party, would most likely be elected House secretary general.
“We will elect him [Romualdez] as our Speaker. He has the full support of our party, PDP-Laban, and almost all political groups in the House led by his own Lakas-CMD, which he heads as president,” the former deputy speaker said.
Gonzales said Romualdez deserves to lead the House.“He was in the running for the speakership in 2019 but settled for the position of majority leader to promote camaraderie and unity in the House. He politely and patiently waited for his time to become Speaker while doing his job well. Forbearance and the capacity for self-sacrifice are his virtues. And the time has now come for him to be our leader,” he said.
Romualdez honed his skills as a politician and parliamentarian through years of experience, he said, adding that, “Those skills will come in handy as our new Speaker shepherds the House in support of the legislative and unity agenda of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.”
Gonzales also described the Leyte lawmaker as a “consensus builder, who always listens to the concerns of his colleagues, his constituents and the people.”
For his part, Barbers cited Romualdez’s sterling performance record as House Majority Leader under the leaderships of both former Speakers Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco.
He said Romualdez helped stabilize political turmoil among members of the August chamber during the reported Velasco-Cayetano speakership rift in October 2020.
“He was also credited with steering the House minority and majority members in the passage of crucial pieces of legislation such as the Bayanihan 1 and 2 to help alleviate economically the welfare of Filipinos badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Barbers said.
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda also said Romualdez will be the next Speaker “not because he is a cousin of the incoming President but because of his legislative prowess, his mastery of the legislative grind or mill.”
Salceda said Romualdez steered passage of “even the most difficult reforms like the Public Service Act.”
Former president and congresswoman-elect Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, chairman emeritus of Lakas-CMD Party, has expressed her support to Romualdez.
Priorities
Romualdez said the absolute top priority of the 19th Congress in its First Regular Session is the passage of the 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
“First of all, there’s the budget. Then there’s some follow-through on what we have already passed in the House and the Senate in the previous 18th Congress. So a number of those have already been refiled,” said Romualdez, president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
He is confident that all priority legislation of Marcos would be passed by Congress within one year, or the first regular session.
“I don’t want to preempt the President’s Sona statement, but we will take our cue from his Sona priority message,” added the lawmaker.
Marcos will deliver his first Sona on July 25 at Batasang Pambansa Complex during a joint session before the House of Representatives and the Senate.
From there, the executive branch will submit the 2023 NEP, which then becomes the basis for the 2023 GAB.
Marathon hearings will follow as House members headed by the House Committee on Appropriations scrutinize the bill’s budget allocations for each department in government.
Once it is approved by Congress and signed by Marcos, the GAB becomes the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Romualdez said the 19th Congress will also immediately work on post-pandemic measures to help sustain economic recovery.
Super majority
Romualdez expects a smooth working relationship with the Senate, especially with the help of the super majority coalition.
“No hindrances are anticipated. We have talked about it with economic managers, with our counterparts in the Senate and in the House, we have actually more time discussing that with [the] leadership and sometimes the Senate is maybe more deliberate, it will take time. But we don’t anticipate any hindrances or any problems, we are looking forward to [a] very smooth and functioning Congress, both House and Senate,” he said.
Meanwhile, more lawmakers are joining the Lakas-CMD, bringing the party’s total membership in the House to 64.
Senate
The 19th Senate opens its first regular session with the election of its new leaders on top of an agenda focused on boosting government efforts to bounce back from the crippling effects of the pandemic amid global supply chain woes and raging conflicts abroad.
Designated to preside as acting Senate President is Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, former Majority Leader, who will lead Monday’s opening rites starting 10 a.m.
Like Romualdez, Zubiri as then majority leader was credited with helping Senate President Vicente Sotto III steer passage of crucial measures during the pandemic, including even tough tax reforms and liberalization bills.
Expected to be elected are the top Senate officers in the the new Congress, including the Senate President, Senate President Pro-Tempore, Majority Leader, Secretary and Sergeant-at-Arms, with the losing candidate for Senate President traditionally elected as Minority Leader.
Zubiri is expected to be elected 24th Senate President; comebacking senator Loren Legarda as Senate President Pro Tempore, and Sen. Joel Villanueva as Majority Leaders.
Zubiri earlier saiid the Senate will prioritize passing a national budget which includes funding for a stimulus package for distressed industries and sectors affected by the pandemic and current economic issues.
Zubiri indicated that the Senate is looking forward to pass measures to combat the rising inflation, reinvigorate the economy, lower the prices of basic goods, and strengthen education policies.
The Senate is also set to welcome 12 of its newly elected senators, including three neophyte senators, four reelected lawmakers and five former legislators. Among the first-termers are Sen. Robin Padilla (with 26,612,434 total votes), Sen. Raffy Tulfo (23,396,954) and Sen. Mark Villar (19,475,592). The five returning senators include Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (19,295,314), Sen. Chiz Escudero (20,271,458), Sen. JV Ejercito (15,841,858), Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (15,108,625) and Legarda (24,264,969).
Reelected to continue their second consecutive term are: Senators Sherwin T. Gatchalian (20,602,655 total votes), Risa Hontiveros (15,420,807), Villanueva (18,486,034) and Zubiri (18,734,336).