“So far, so good.” This is the assessment of the first year’s performance of the Marcos administration by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva.           Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva (Senate PRIB Photo)

“The Marcos administration has clearly set the foundation on the goals and objectives that they want to achieve during their term,” he said. “In terms of the legislative agenda, we are happy to report that 19 bills, both of local and national significance, have already been signed into law. Important legislations such as the SIM Registration Act, Condonation of Agrarian Reform Debt Act, Rationalizing the Disability Pension of Veterans, Regional Specialty Centers Act and Extending the Period of Availment of Estate Tax Amnesty have either been signed into law or awaiting the signature of the President,” he pointed out. Villanueva also said he is looking at 28 proposed measures to be passed into law before President Bongbong Marcos’ Second State of the Nation Address (SONA). This would not be possible if not for the close coordination of the Executive and Legislative branches of Government, as well as the hard work of the members of both Houses of Congress, he added. “We are looking forward to discussing more bills included in the list of priority measures of the administration as discussed during our LEDAC meetings as we open the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress. This includes the passage of the Trabaho para sa Bayan Act, a national employment framework, which will give a long-term solution to the job-skills mismatch in the country,” he stressed. “As a staunch advocate of labor and employment policies towards decent employment for all, we laud the President’s efforts into looking for potential investors to do business in the Philippines,” he stated. Villanueva said the foreign trips of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. have brought in  P3.48 trillion in investment pledges which would potentially bring in thousands of jobs opportunities for Filipinos. “The further easing of our unemployment rate back to pre-pandemic level is a good indicator that the economic strategies of this administration are working. We also commend the President for addressing other issues related to agriculture, education and improved social services for Filipinos in need,” he stressed. “As with every administration, we look forward with optimism into what our government will accomplish. As Majority Leader of the Senate, we are always willing to help in any way we can to help them achieve this and ultimately, improve the lives of all 110 million Filipinos,” he added. Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go also lauded President Marcos “especially in steering the country towards recovery from the pandemic as an immediate goal on his first year in office.” “As a senator, I continue to support his many legislative priorities, especially those pertaining to strengthening further our healthcare system,” Go said in a statement. “In fact, as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, we have recently passed one of his priority measures, the Regional Specialty Centers Bill, which I principally sponsored and is one of the authors in the Senate. Rest assured, we will continue working with the current administration in bringing crucial government health services closer to the people,” he said. Go said he particularly lauds the Marcos Administration’s efforts to uplift the lives of poor Filipinos as stated in its Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 “which is our roadmap towards full and inclusive economic transformation.” “I will continue to support efforts to address the needs of the poor, the hopeless and the helpless sectors of our society by reducing poverty and improving social protection, ensuring food security, and providing safe and resilient communities for our people,” he also said. (With Hannah L. Torregoza)