Just because President Marcos did not certify the four priority bills as urgent does not mean he lacked sincerity in wanting them passed as soon as possible, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the message of the President was clear: the four proposed legislative measures were priority bills.

"Hindi naman ibig pong sabihin na hindi cinertify as urgent ang isang bill ay hindi na po sinsero ang Pangulo. Kaya po binigyan ng mensahe, malinaw priority bills po ang apat na legislative measures (Just because the President did not certify a bill as urgent, does not mean he was not sincere about it. That was why he made the message, it was clear that the four legislative measures were priority bills)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

On Tuesday, the President asked senators and congressmen to prioritize the passage of the Anti-dynasty Bill, Independent People's Commission Act, Party-list System Reform Act, and Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act.

Castro pointed out that what the President and the Constitution say are clear: a bill can only be certified as urgent if it involves public calamity or emergency.

"Malinaw ang mensahe ng Pangulo at Malinaw din po ang sinasabi ng Konstitusyon, kung kailan kailangan mag-certify as urgent ng bill ang Pangulo: Ito ay kung may tinatawag na public calamity or emergency. So, naaayon naman po sa Konstitusyon ang ginagawa ng Pangulo (The President’s message is clear, and the Constitution is also clear about when the President should certify a bill as urgent: it is only in cases of public calamity or emergency. Therefore, the President’s actions are in accordance with the Constitution)," Castro said.

The Palace official made the statement when sought for reaction on some lawmakers saying that if the President was indeed sincere in passing the priority bills, he should have certified them as urgent.

The changing political landscape, which has shown political abuses, was what motivated the President to classify the four bills as priorities, Castro said.

Marcos, according to Castro, wants the people to have greater power than the "abusive politicians."

In making the Anti-dynasty Bill a priority, the President wants the people to choose leaders based on merits, not on surnames.

"Unang una po, naiiba na po yung political landscape. Nakikita natin na mayroon mga umaabuso na mga politiko, may nagpapaikot ng batas. Public demands a fairer system. Ang nais ng Pangulo mas lumakas ang kapangyarihan ng taumbayan at hindi ng iilang mapang abusing politiko (First of all, the political landscape has changed. We see politicians who abuse their power and exploit the law. The public is demanding a fairer system. What the President wants is to strengthen the power of the people, not that of a few abusive politicians)," Castro said.

"Nais ng Pangulo na ang taumbayan ay makapamili ng liderato nang naaayon sa merito at hindi sa apelyido (The President wants the public to be able to choose leaders based on merit, not on family name)," Castro stressed.

In 2022, Marcos questioned why political dynasties must be banned, saying they were not necessarily bad.

"Why would you make political dynasty illegal? Paano kung 'yon ang gusto ng tao? The perception is political dynasty is bad, which is not the case," he then said.

"You are targeting a very specific group in society. Ang pulitika naman is all about performance. If you're worried about dynasties then take everybody to an election," he added.

Castro reiterated it was the changing political landscape that prompted him to make his recent pronouncement, including prioritizing a bill, contradicting his opinion when he was still a presidential aspirant.

The Palace maintained that the President was right when he said that putting a candidate to power remains in the hands of the people through election, but the Anti-dynasty Bill would give them a choice.

"Katulad ng sinabi natin kanina, nagbabago ang political landscape, maraming umaabuso. At tama naman ang Pangulo, ang kapangyarihan ng pagboto ay nasa kamay ng taumbayan pero dahil dito may mga naaabuso. Nais ng Pangulo na ipabatid sa taumbayan na kayo ay may choice. Choice na naaayon sa merito, hindi lamang dahil pare-pareho ng apelyido (As we said earlier, the political landscape is changing, and many are taking advantage of it. And the President is right — the power to vote is in the hands of the people, but because of this, some are being exploited. The President wants to convey to the public that you have a choice — a choice based on merit, not merely on having the same last name)," Castro said.

In prioritizing the Party-list System Reform Act, the Palace cited that is being abused by politicians, displacing the marginalized sector.

"Marami po kasi talaga ang umaabuso, instead na marginalized sector ang talagang naiboboto, nagagamit ng  ibang mga abusong pulitiko (There really are many who are abusing it, instead of the true marginalized sectors being elected, they are being used by abusive politicians)," Castro said.

In passing the Independent People's Commission (IPC) Act, Marcos wants no duplication of work with the existing Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Ombudsman.

According to Castro, he told lawmakers during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting on Tuesday to ensure that there will be no redundancy between the two commissions and the Ombudsman.

"Actually napag usapan iyan kahapon at nagbigay ng opinyon ang ating Pangulo na tignan lamang kung hindi magkakaroon ng duplication of work specially with the Ombudsman at huwag magamit na weapon, ma-weaponize ito sa pamumulitika at iyon ang tingin natin (That was actually discussed yesterday, and the President gave his opinion that we should ensure there will be no duplication of work, especially with the Ombudsman, and that it should not be used as a weapon — that it should not be weaponized for politics, which is our concern)," Castro said.

"Aaralin mabuti ng ating mga mambabatas na hindi magkaroon ng duplication ng work o magkaroon ng overlapping ng jurisdiction between this IPC and the Ombudsman (Our lawmakers will study it carefully to avoid any duplication of work or overlapping of jurisdiction between this IPC and the Ombudsman)," Castro added.

Despite wanting to prioritize IPC, Castro said Marcos remains confident over the work of the ICI.

"Yes, still, wala pa naman po iyong batas, e.  At tiwala po ang Pangulo sa mga gingawa po ng ICI (the law is not here yet. And the President trusts the work the ICI is doing)," Castro said when asked about the President's confidence in ICI.

The proposed IPC Act seeks to create a commission to investigate anomalies in government infrastructure projects. It would have significant authority including the power to issue subpoenas, cite in contempt individuals, freeze assets and blacklist erring contractors to ensure accountability for corruption in infrastructure projects.

At present, the ICI functions as a fact-finding body tasked to investigate corruption and irregularities in flood control and other public works projects.

While it has no contempt power, the  commission can recommend the filing of criminal, civil, and administrative cases before the Ombudsman, Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Service Commission, or other disciplinary bodies. It may also propose corrective measures or legislative reforms to prevent similar abuses.