The House Committee on Public Works and Highways on Wednesday, March 22, approved the committee reports on the proposed measure for the new Philippine Building Act (PBA) and the proposed 30-year National Infrastructure Program (NIP). Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. called the PBA a “landmark legislation” as he expressed hope “for the immediate passage of this bill as it is badly needed due to all the catastrophic events happening all over the world generally, and the whole country in particular". “This is going to be a landmark legislation indeed,” he said in his preliminary remarks. He thanked the resource people for their recommendations and cooperation “in order to make sure that we have a well-crafted bill that will cater all sectors' concerns, for the common good". Momo reminded key government agencies that failed to submit their official position papers on the approved substitute bill to instead submit them to the Senate for the discussion on the counterpart measure. The substitute bill for the proposed PBA is a consolidation of House Bills (HB) Nos. 815, 1180, 1205, 1207, 1409, 2392, 3442,  3686, and 7218. In HB No.3442 by Momo, the measure seeks to establish a classification system for buildings, requirements for each type of construction, occupancy, location and zoning, hazard zones and special sites, and design. It also wants the formation of a National Building Office to issue and promulgate rules, approve changes on the standards, issue appropriate orders, such as cease and desist and demolition, and appoint local building officials and Regional Building Appeals Board. Earlier, the lawmaker bemoaned the current National Building Code, which was promulgated in 1977, as he cited the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria last month, as well as the Philippines’ own vulnerability to natural disasters. Meanwhile, Bulacan 6th district Rep. Salvador Pleyto appealed to Momo for the NIP bill’s approval. “Pagbigyan nyo na ako, Mr. Chair, birthday ko naman (Do me a favor, Mr. Chair, since it’s my birthday),” he said, to which Momo greeted him. He explained that the substitute bill aims “to provide the roadmap for the systematic development of our national infrastructure system for the next 30 years". “This bill has been aligned to the policies and programs of the new Philippine development plan for 2023 up to 2028 as approved by NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself,” Pleyto said. “It also provides the long-term framework that will seamlessly interconnect our medium and annual infrastructure programs and therefore provide for continuity in its infrastructure development across different administrations,” the lawmaker added in his speech. In Momo’s explanatory note on HB No.1975, he highlighted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent spate of typhoons and flooding that affected the country. “The adverse effects of the Covid pandemic, coupled with the recent spate of destructive typhoons and floods that struck the country, further highlight the need for longer-range, resilient, and high-impact engineering projects that will more effectively address major disruptive events, while complementing immediate emergency responses,” he wrote. The 30-year program, the lawmaker added, would “ensure continuity in the development and implementation of the projects in the program, notwithstanding changes in national leadership". HB No.1975 identified the the core national infrastructure projects: transport and logistics infrastructure (road transport, metropolitan and urban road and expressway systems); rail and other mass transport (long-haul rail systems, urban commuter rail systems, urban bus transit systems); ports; and airports (Mega Manila airport systems and regional airports), among others.