Saying that congressmen chose "action over excuses", Speaker Martin Romualdez once again boasted of the House of Representatives' achievements, this time on the final session day of the 19th Congress.
On Wednesday night, June 11, Romualdez said the 300-plus strong House “worked hard and made change real" as it crafted and passed legislation that improved people’s lives.
“We chose purpose over politics. Service over self. And action over excuses,” Romualdez told his solon-colleagues in plenary.
He reported that from July 2022 to June 10, 2025, House members filed 11,557 bills and 2,393 resolutions; passed 1,565 measures; enacted 287 national and local laws; and processed an average of 29 measures per day in 188 session days.
Amid all these figures, Romualdez said the solons still didn't sacrifice quality for quantity.
“This is not about volume. This is about value. Hindi po ito paramihan ng batas. Ang tanong: May silbi ba sa tao? (This is not about creating the most laws. The question is: Does it benefit the people?) And I say with conviction: yes. These laws mattered. These laws made lives better,” he said.
"We secured our sovereignty through the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program. We protected our farmers through the anti-agricultural economic sabotage act and revived forgotten industries through the Salt Industry Development Act," noted the Speaker.
Romualdez said the House unlocked investments with the Maharlika Investment Fund Act, the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, and the CREATE MORE Act.
"We brought education and employment within reach through the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation (ETEEAP) Program Act, and Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act," he said.
The House chief also highlighted the Internet Transactions Act and the VAT on Digital Services Law, the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act, and Amendments to the EPIRA law.
“These are not mere statutes. They are strategic shifts. They redefine the role of government - from passive bystander to active catalyst," Romualdez said.
He said every measure the House passed was in deliberate alignment with the two cornerstones of national transformation: President Marcos' Bagong Pilipinas governance agenda, and the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028.
“We translated vision into law. We took the administration’s whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach and turned it into action that benefits every Filipino,” he said.
He added that out of 64 bills in the Common Legislative Agenda, the House approved 63 and enacted 33 into law, and passed 27 out of 28 Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority measures “on time and on target.”
“This unity was never about surrendering independence. It was about aligning our purpose with the priorities of the Filipino people. It was about making government work - not just from Malacañang or from Congress, but as one government, one republic, one nation,” he emphasized.