From left to right: Onions, the House plenary, Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. (MANILA BULLETIN, Facebook)

The House of Representatives will resume plenary sessions tomorrow, Monday, May 8, in the afterglow of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s five-day United States (US) visit where he secured at least $1.3 billion worth of investment pledges.

Speaker Martin Romualdez, head honcho of the House, arguably played a key part in the success of the trip, having been in the US since mid-April to pave the way for the Filipino leader's arrival by meeting up with American lawmakers.

"The House of Representatives is committed to pass measures to improve existing legal framework to facilitate the entry of foreign investments, thus enhancing our country’s competitive advantage in attracting foreign capital and businesses to create better-paying jobs for our people and sustain our economic growth," Romualdez said at the tail end of the  visit.

Romualdez's state sojourn took place during the House's five-week summer recess, which began March 15.

Remaining LEDAC bills

The return of sessions on Monday also kicks off the final portion of the first regular session of the current 19th Congress. By June 2, the House - and also the Senate, for that matter - will have adjourned sine die, marking the end of the first regular session.

This means that the House has less than a month to make headway on the remaining eight out of the 31 priority measures of the Marcos administration as identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

The eight LEDAC bills, which are in advanced stages of deliberation at the House, are the Regional Specialty Hospitals (for second reading approval); Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry (under technical working group or TWG deliberation); National Land Use Act (TWG); Department of Water Resources and Services and Creation of Water Regulatory Commission (TWG); Electric Power Industry Reform Act (for committee deliberation); Budget Modernization (for committee deliberation); National Defense Act (for committee deliberation); and Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension for Uniformed Personnel (also for committee deliberation).

“We are working double time to pass the remaining eight LEDAC measures and our own priority bills," Romualdez said.

His previous target was to pass all 31 LEDAC bills before year's end.

In aid of legislation

The lower chamber also has two cliffhangers in terms of ongoing investigations in aid of legislation.

These are the House Committee on Dangerous Drug's investigation on the Oct. 8, 2022 Manila drug bust involving "ninja cops," dismissed police master sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.

The drug bust, which led to the confiscation of a whopping 990 kilos of "shabu" inside Mayo's lending office, has tell-tale signs of a cover-up, according to committee chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

Ninja cops are police officers involved in the illegal drug trade, particularly on the recycling or reselling of seized drugs from a police operation.

While the House Committee on Agriculture and Food is yet to conclude its probe on the agricultural hoarding-slash-price manipulation issue, which Romualdez himself ordered as a way to find out what caused prices of onions to skyrocket in late 2022.

Panel chairperson, Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga has set the next hearing on May 11. The solons are hoping that businesswoman and so-called "Sibuyas Queen" Leah Cruz alias Lilia Cruz will attend the proceedings.

Cruz has failed to attend the previous three hearings of Enverga panel, citing varying reasons.

It's time to talk about Teves

The House Committee on Ethics and Privileges chaired by COOP-NATCCO Party-list Rep. Felimon Espares is also expected to address the status of suspended Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. sooner than later.

The controversial Teves, who is out of the country, was suspended for "disorderly behavior" by the House for 60 calendar days last March 15.

The disorderly behavior stemmed from his refusal to personally report to the House despite the lapse of his travel authority. His suspension will end on May 14.

But Teves, who has been tagged as the mastermind behind the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, appears to have no intentions of coming back home, at least for now.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco had previously said that the Committee on Ethics already has jurisdiction on the Teves situation, and that further penalties, if any, would have to go through the panel.