The House of Representatives on Thursday announced it has completed the constitution of all its 65 standing committees and 15 special committees, and is now ready to create and pass priority legislations of the 19th Congress and the Marcos administration.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said the full constitution of all the committees is very crucial for the expeditious passage of the Marcos administration’s priority legislative agenda and the timely approval of the P5.268 trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2023.
The majority leader made the announcement after the plenary elected three chairpersons to fill the remaining vacancies.
“All of our standing committees and special committees are 100 percent filled up and ready to carry out their mandate as provided under the Constitution,” Dalipe said.
“I feel relieved that we have finally filled up the organizational gaps. Now we are ready to focus on our primary mandate which is to create legislations that can make life better for our people,” Dalipe said.
Dalipe said House Speaker Martin Romualdez has listed several priority legislations, which he hopes would be acted upon by all the House panels during the 19th Congress.
These bills include Creation of the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone, Creation of the Eastern Visayas Development Authority, Creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, Internet Transaction Act/E-Commerce law, Waste-to-Energy Bill, On-Site, In-City Near City Local Government Resettlement Program, and Amending the Philippine Passport Act.
Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE), Medical Reserve Corps, Mandatory establishment of evacuation centers in every city, province, and municipality throughout the country/Permanent Evacuation Centers, National Disease Prevention Management Authority or Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Creation of the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
The committees are also expected to prioritize Open Access in Data Transmission, Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission, Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension for Uniformed Personnel, Ordaining the Development of the Downstream Natural Gas Industry, E-Governance Act, Free Legal Assistance for Police and Soldiers, Online Registration of Voters and Amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The measures that will be prioritized by the panels are National Defense Act, Rightsizing the National Government, Budget Reform Act, Apprenticeship Act and SIM Card Registration Act.