Outgoing House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez said the just-concluded 18th Congress managed to "outwork" the Covid-19 pandemic, and brought the numbers to prove it.
During the three-year run of the 18th Congress from July 22, 2019 to June 3, 2022, Romualdez said House members filed a total of 13,526 measures.
Of the number, Romualdez said 10,845 were bills while 2,681 were resolutions.
"I am proud to have walked these halls with all of you as we have faithfully discharged our duties to our nation and our people," Romualdez, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president, said during the final session of the 18th Congress last June 2 wherein he also paid tribute to the tireless efforts of his colleagues, House officials and staff in the performance of their mandate.
A total of 1,618 measures were approved by the House of Representatives from July 2019 to June 2022 under the leaderships of former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and outgoing Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
As of June 1, a total of 311 received President Duterte's signature and were enacted into law. One hundred and nineteen of the laws were national in scope, while 192 were local.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, a number of laws enacted were specifically crafted to address the ill-effects brought by the pandemic.
At least 374 bills and resolutions filed since that time were Covid-related. Undoubtedly, the most significant of these Covid-19 response laws were the Bayanihan 1 and 2, which allowed the release of billions of pesos to fight the effects of the pandemic and more importantly protect the citizenry from the disease.
“While almost everybody were forced to stay in their homes for safety during the community quarantine, House Members, officials and employees went out of their way to report for work and perform their duties diligently,” noted Romualdez, who is believed to be a shoo-in for the speakership in the upcoming 19th Congress.
Another 759 measures--310 national bills, 448 local bills, and one Resolution of Both Houses (RBH)--were passed on third and final reading during the 18th Congress, according to Romualdez. Thirteen more bills--eight national and local--were approved on second reading, he said.
Meanwhile, Romualdez said the filing of 1,497 committee reports showed how active the House committees were even during the pandemic when the lawmakers had to make do with virtual or digital processes instead of traditional face-to-face meetings.
"Together with President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., we, the incoming members of the 19th Congress look forward to working in a post-pandemic setting so we may put forward our 100 percent effort in helping the country rise from the effects of COVID-19.
"The Marcos administration is fully aware of this humongous challenge.The answer, as ably demonstrated by the 18th Congress, is unity, perseverance, and compassion," Romualdez said.