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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Matinong tao yan': Sandro Marcos believes Gatchalian can get Senate up and working

'Matinong tao yan': Sandro Marcos believes Gatchalian can get Senate up and working

Published Jul 27, 2026 02:44 pm

At A Glance

  • House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos expresses confidence that Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian will restore efficiency in the upper chamber during the second regular session of the 20th Congress.
  • Marcos notes the House passed 26 of 52 LEDAC priority measures in the first session and aims to sustain momentum in passing more during the current legislative calendar.
  • He acknowledges Senate leadership turmoil earlier this year slowed progress, with Gatchalian formally elected Senate President on June 17, 2026, after succeeding Alan Peter Cayetano.
Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (left), Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian (Facebook)
Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (left), Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian (Facebook)


House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos expressed confidence that Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian would be able to turn the upper chamber into a well-oiled machine this second regular session.
"It's good that the Senate has now organized everything. And I'm sure under the leadership of SP Gachalian, the legislative mill will continue or will go back to functioning as efficiently as possible," Rep. Marcos told House reporters on Monday, July 27.
"Kailala mo naman si SP, matinong tao yan (You know SP, he’s a decent person). And I'm sure [he] will get the Senate up and working as quickly as possible.
Monday marked the start of the second regular session of the ongoing 20th Congress.
It fell on the same day as President Marcos' fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The presidential son gave these remarks as part of his reflection on the legislative output of the bicameral Congress, with the passage of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority measures serving as the yardstick.
Congress is composed of the 318-strong House of Representatives and the 24-member Senate.
""With regards to the role of the House, 26 of the 52 [LEDAC measures] were passed in the first regular session. We plan to--we're actually ahead of schedule," Rep. Marcos said.
"So we will hope to continue the momentum that we started in the first regular session on to the second regular session. And I am sure that over the coming months and by the end of this legislative calendar, we will continue to pass the LEDAC priorities of the administration," he said.
For a bill to prosper into a law, it must gain final approval from both legislative chambers.
Of the 52 identified priority measures of the Marcos administration, only one--the reset of the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)--has been enacted.
Asked if such low number of enacted LEDAC bills could be attributed to the recent disarray in the Senate, Rep. Marcos gave an affirmative answer.
"You know, that's definitely, I would have to say that that's definitely a factor. You know, the more, how do I say this? The more political gulo (chaos) that there is, the less time there is to work. I mean, everyone knows that, di ba (right)?"
Before Gatchalian, the Senate Presidency was passed from Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano during a controversial coup d'etat on May 11, 2026.
Gatchalian was formally elected Senate President on June 17, 2026, during a special session of Congress, wherein he succeeded Cayetano after a leadership dispute.

Related Tags

Sherwin Gatchalian Sandro Marcos SONA LEDAC Alan Peter Cayetano House of Representatives Senate
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