ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Romualdez tells House to 'jumpstart legislative mill' amid probes, budget hearings

Romualdez tells House to 'jumpstart legislative mill' amid probes, budget hearings

Published Sep 16, 2025 11:33 am

At A Glance

  • Speaker Martin Romualdez has instructed the House of Representatives to "jumpstart the legislative mill" even as the chamber vows to confront allegations in connection with the flood control projects mess head on.
The House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Speaker Martin Romualdez has instructed the House of Representatives to “jumpstart the legislative mill” even as the chamber vows to confront allegations in connection with the flood control projects mess head on.
On Monday, Sept. 15, Romualdez said he met with chairmen of several key committees to tackle challenges facing the House, particularly questions surrounding infrastructure projects.
He emphasized that inquiries must proceed openly and responsibly—but warned that Congress cannot allow investigations to paralyze its broader mandate of service.
“These are serious matters, and I emphasized that the integrity of the House must always be above question. The people deserve clear answers on where public funds go and who truly benefits from them,” said the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president.
Attending the meetings with Romualdez were the following committee heads: agriculture and food chairman Mark Enverga, aquaculture and fisheries resources chairman Tsuyoshi Horibata, ways and means chairman Miro Quimbo, agrarian reform chairperson Eleanor Bulut Begtang, economic affairs chairman Antonio Legarda Leviste, government enterprises and privatization chairman Eric Olivarez, health chairman Ciriaco Gato, basic education chairman Roman Romulo, higher and technical education chairman Jude Acidre, and public works and highways chairman Romeo Momo.
The House of Representatives is currently on its fifth week of deliberations on the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) or proposed national budget for 2026. The lower chamber is expected to lay down soon the rest of its legislative priorities in the current 20th Congress.
Running alongside this are the congressional (House and Senate) investigations on the flood control projects scandal, where names of certain solons have been brought up.
Romualdez reminded his colleagues that political squabbles must not overshadow urgent legislation on food security, job creation, healthcare, education, and national defense.
“Bawat araw na ginugugol sa pulitika ay araw na nawawala sa paglilingkod. Ang mandato ng Kongreso ay magtrabaho para sa bayan (Every day spent on politics is a day lost in service. The mandate of Congress is to work for the people),” he stressed.
The Speaker pointed out that the 19th Congress became the most productive in history by setting aside politics and passing laws that delivered direct benefits to the people—from jobs and livelihood to healthcare and national security. He said the same focus must guide the 20th Congress.
“Ituloy natin ang mga imbestigasyon kontra katiwalian para lumabas ang katotohanan. Kasabay nito, doblehin natin ang sipag sa paggawa ng batas at programang direktang nakakatulong sa taumbayan: murang pagkain, trabaho na may sapat na suweldo, libreng ospital at gamot, edukasyon para sa lahat, at seguridad sa ating mga komunidad,” Speaker Romualdez said.
(Let us continue the investigations against corruption so that the truth may come out. Alongside this, let us double our efforts in crafting laws and programs that directly help the people: affordable food, jobs with decent wages, free hospitals and medicine, education for all, and safety in our communities.)
“The House must remain the House of the People—a chamber of service, not of scandal. Challenges will come and go, but our mission remains: to serve, to deliver, and to keep faith with the Filipino people,” he concluded.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.