The House of Representatives is committed to support the remaining legislative priorities that President Rodrigo Duterte sought to be passed by Congress, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said on Tuesday, July 27.
In response to Duterte’s SONA request, Velasco said congressmen are “ready to help and cooperate” with the chief executive who will step down as president at the end of his term in June, 2022.
“The House of Representatives is ready to help and cooperate with President Duterte in pushing for pieces of legislation that will help navigate the country and the economy amid the ongoing pandemic,” Velasco said in a press statement.
In his SONA, Duterte lauded Congress for the passage of many of his legislative requests.
Former speaker and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano claimed credit for “most” of the approved legislative measures that Duterte mentioned.
Velasco said the Lower House is “committed to pursue the remaining measures in the President’s legislative agenda” for the final stretch of Duterte’s presidency.
The incumbent House leader said the chamber will “focus on strengthening the country’s health care system and restoring jobs lost to the pandemic.” “This is a must and we must heed the call of the President in order to bring back normalcy in the lives of our countrymen and help our economy recover and flourish again following a severe beating from the global health crisis,” said Velasco.
He added: “We must not only ensure that our economy is ready to reopen, but more importantly we must prepare our people for this reopening.” According to Velasco it is incumbent upon the lawmakers to “help our people feel confident that they will ahe jobs and livelihood opportunities.” “We commend the President for his humility in acknowledging that there are things that his administration needs to accomplish in the next 12 months despite his remarkable achievements in the last five years—from free college education to universal health care, free irrigation, trust fund for coconut farmers, ease of doing business, among others,” the House leader said.