Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero reported a “big haul of bills” marking his first 100 days in office as the Senate adjourned sessions for a month-long congressional break.
Plenary sessions are set to resume by Nov. 4 with the longer break aimed at giving way for the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filing in the first week of October.
Just before Escudero banged the gavel signaling the adjournment of sessions at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, he thanked the Senate's staff and wished them all a relaxing and enjoyable break.
Meanwhile, the Bicolano lawmaker fulfilled his vow to erase any backlog of measures under his watch.
“It’s a scoreboard we can be truly proud of,” Escudero said, citing the 137 pieces of legislation approved by the Senate, 62 of which are of national application and 75 of local concerns, in the 26 session days since it convened on July 22.
Escudero has only praises for his fellow senators and employees in the Senate for their hard work and initiatives, and for putting particular focus on legislation that would help simplify the processes in governance, uplift the lives of the Filipino people, improve the economy, and bolster the country’s sovereignty.
“Hindi lang imbestigasyon kundi sa pagpapanday ng batas (Not only in investigations but in crafting laws). These probes make for good TV, but much of my colleagues’ work are actually done outside the glare of cameras,” he pointed out.
From the Senate bills approved under his watch, Escudero added, 13 have been signed into law by President Marcos and more are on the way to the presidential desk for the Chief Executive’s signature.
According to Escudero, the remaining priority bills are on the “advanced stages of discussion” and will be approved when Congress resumes session in early November.
Both houses of Congress will go on a recess beginning next week to allow its members seeking re-election to file their candidacies for the May 2025 polls. The House of Representatives will also use the break as an opportunity to print its approved version of next year’s national budget.
The government’s spending plan for 2025 will take priority when senators resume session on November 4, Escudero said.
“Our target is to pass the budget early to give the President ample time to review it,” the Bicolano lawmaker said.
Escudero said the Senate would have been able to churn out more bills “if our work were not impacted by typhoons.”
“Mga isang linggo rin na session days ang naanod dahil sa bagyo at baha (There were also some session days that were cancelled due to the storm and flood),“ he said.
With the chamber now reduced to 23 members after Senator Sonny Angara was named to the education post, Escudero said this Senate “knows how to multitask, so we will take up the budget alongside other measures certified as urgent by the President.”
Among the bills passed by the Senate are 12 of the priority bills of the Marcos Administration, namely the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which President Marcos signed recently, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy or CREATE MORE, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Act, VAT on Digital Services, and the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act.
The Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act, Blue Economy Act, and the Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act are up for discussion in the bicameral conference committee.
To ensure there would be no disruption in the budget deliberations, Escudero initiated an agreement with the Philippine International Convention Center for the use of its function rooms for the conduct of other inquiries in aid of legislation by different committees as needed, as part of the Senate’s oversight function to ensure checks and balances in government.
Under Escudero’s leadership, the chamber also launched the Senate Assist online platform that aims to simplify access to medical and social assistance programs of the senators, in collaboration with government agencies, public health institutions and the private sector.
Initiated by the Senate Spouses Foundation, Inc., which is headed by Heart Evangelista-Escudero, the Senate Assist portal will allow individuals who require assistance to submit their requests 24/7 from anywhere in the country.
“We have around 41 session days left before the end of the 19th Congress. We’re looking at passing as many of the priority bills of the President as possible with the little time left on our calendar. Many of these are already in the advanced stages of the legislative process. Rest assured the Senate will work overtime to pass these measures,” Escudero said.
The priority bills currently up for second reading are the following:
• SBN 2821 or the Amendments to the Right of Way Act
• SBN 2826 or the Mining Fiscal Regime
• SBN 2771 or the National Water Resources Management Act
• SBN 2781 or the E-Governance Act
• SBN 2699 or the Konektadong Pinoy Bill
• SBN 2474 or the Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel
• SBN 2034 or the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
• SBN 2267 or the Waste-to-Energy Bill