Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said Friday his House colleagues’ demonstration of teamwork as well as the efficient and professional help provided by the legislative staff enabled the 18th Congress to surpass the performance of past congresses in terms of productivity and number of legislative measures approved.
Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines College of Law, made the statement in response to queries from graduating students of the University of Mindanao College of Law about his role as House Majority Leader in ensuring the swift approval of President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda during the Abogadong Dabawenyo Kapihan via Zoom.
Based on official records, Romualdez recalled the 18th Congress exceeded the record of the 17th Congress for the First Regular Session in terms of the total approved measures and total bills processed.
Records bared that the number of approved measures during the First.Regular Session in the 18th Congress is 34 percent higher than the 290 approved measures in the previous Congress for the same period.
On the other hand, the total measures processed for the same period was also higher by 31 percent compared with the 1,247 measures processed in the 17th Congress.
“The success of Congress is teamwork. Success was due in large part to good work with the Speaker, Secretary General and our colleagues. It’s my role to keep close contacts with 300 lawmakers,” Romualdez, chairman of the House committee on rules, stressed during the forum organized by the students of the University of Mindanao College of Law and Legal Counseling Prof. Jeffrey Coronel, a lawyer, in coordination with the Villarica, Coronel, Pojas, and Caharian Law Firm.
“To be very candid and honest, we are very lucky to have a very professional and efficient secretariat. We have great people there that help us not only to make us look good, but also to make us feel good. The staff have been there for many decades, they have been helping us in the process,” said Romualdez.
He acknowledged Deputy Secretary General for Operations and lawyer David Robert Amorin and House committee on rules Technical Staff Chief Jennifer Baquiran as some of the hardworking House officials during the forum.
During the February 17, 2021 technical working group virtual meeting of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council for its Common Legislative Agenda, Romualdez said he and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco were very proud after seven out of nine “top priority” Palace’s bills have been approved by the House; and were transmitted to the Senate.
“In the last LEDAC meeting, seven out of nine of its top priority measures have been passed in the House of Representatives. We are very proud of that record. We see and ensure that the job is done efficiently,” said Romualdez, president of the Philippine Constitution Association and the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
Romualdez also said the House leadership took advantage of the technological advancement when it permitted the use of Zoom, email, text, viber during their regular sessions, committee hearings and meetings to continue performing their mandate of passing various bills into law like the Bayanihan 1 and 2 and the 2021 national budget.
“Pandemic is not an excuse, we found ways to discharge our functions,” Romualdez said.
“Because of COVID-19 pandemic, we use various social media platforms to help us continue working and expedite the process of getting a quorum during session and participation of our colleagues in the
budget deliberations through Zoom at the comfort of their homes and offices. We get things done despite the distance and absence of physical appearance,” Romualdez said.
“We take advantage of the technology and that’s why we are very proud that despite exigencies of time, we were able to do our job in passing the priority bills of President Duterte and measures to respond to pandemic,” Romualdez added.