Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said that he is confident that the 19th Congress will be able to approve all the 20 priority bills that President Marcos wanted to enact before the year ends.
“While we recognize the importance of the Marcos administration’s legislative agenda, we still have to carry out our responsibilities as lawmakers to ensure the quality of the products of the Senate’s legislative mill,” Zubiri said on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
He also commended his colleagues as the upper chamber approved on third and final reading five proposed bills, four of which were among the priority measures of the Marcos administration.
“These pieces of legislation were carefully studied and deliberated on by the senators to help improve the lives of every Filipino in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s governance agenda,” Zubiri said.
“As a collegial body, the Senate is committed to work together in crafting legislations that will spur economic growth, boost investors’ confidence and provide additional benefits for the vulnerable sectors of our society,” he added.
The passage of the measures came less than a week after Zubiri, House Speaker Martin Romualdez and other leaders of both chambers of Congress met with the President in Malacanang during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting.
The measures were approved two days before the legislative body goes on a monthlong break starting Sept. 30.
Zubiri helped shepherd the passage of all the five proposed measures, which the Senate approved during its regular plenary session on Monday.
Among these was Senate Bill No. 1846, or the proposed Internet Transactions Act, which the Senate leader himself authored.
Sen. Mark Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, sponsored the measure, which was intended to promote digital transactions in the country.
Zubiri was also among the co-authors of Senate Bill No. 2224, or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, which Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, defended on the Senate floor.
Furthermore, he authored and co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 2233, to be known as the Public Private Partnership Act, which Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito sponsored.
The Senate chief likewise co-authored and co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 2001 (New Philippine Passport Act) and Senate Bill No. 2028 (An Act Recognizing the Octogenarians, Nonagenarians, and Centenarians).
Sen. Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, and Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, stood on the Senate floor as sponsor of both measures.
Apart from these national bills,12 local bills involving SUCs were also approved on final reading.