House Speaker Martin Romualdez vowed to “answer the call” of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. if his administration needs enactment of laws concerning the country’s bilateral trade and investment agreements with the United States.
Romualdez, a representative of Leyte’s 1st district, said the House is ready to pass vital pieces of legislation that would spur US investments into the country.
“We at the House of Representatives will help in making these investment pledges come to fruition,” he said in a statement.
“If the President needs any piece of legislation to (realize) the objectives of these bilateral trade and investment agreements, we will answer the call,” Romualdez stressed.
The Speaker was part of the official delegation of Marcos, his cousin, in the US, where the President addressed the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly and met with world leaders.
READ: Romualdez joins Marcos’ US visit; trip to bring in more investments
On the sidelines of UNGA, Marcos met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US President Joe Biden to reaffirm the Philippines’ partnership with the US and UN.
Part of Marcos’ working visit was his meetings with several business leaders from various US companies who committed to be a part of the country’s development and economic growth.
The Chief Executive also delivered a keynote speech before global investors, corporate executives, and traders at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where he was asked to ring the closing bell on the trading floor.
Romualdez noted the legislative measures pending in the 19th Congress that would better facilitate the influx of foreign investments and trade relations.
These pending measures, contained in his statement, were the eCommerce Bill, the National Government Rightsizing Program, the eGovernance Act, amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, and amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.
“What is important is we all do our share in nation-building. We all hope to capitalize on the early gains of the Marcos administration in order to steer our economy back to its pre-pandemic growth,” he said.
The Speaker hailed the first visit of Marcos to the US for putting forward national economic interest while boosting ties with the Philippines’ long-standing ally.
READ: Romualdez reacts to PBBM’s UN speech: ‘I have never been prouder’
Marcos arrived home early on Sunday, Sept. 25, after his six-day working visit to the United States.
In his assessment, Romualdez claimed the President “put the Philippines again in the investments map of the world.”
“At a time when nations struggle to bounce back from the ill effects of the pandemic on economies, our President hit the ground running and worked almost round the clock to bring home much-needed investments,” Romualdez said.