Romualdez boasts of House-Senate ‘synchronization’ as Congress reopens

MANILA, Philippines — Assured of the lower chamber’s continued support, House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday opened the third regular session of the 19th Congress with familiar promises to swiftly pass the Marcos administration’s priority bills.

Hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his third State of the Nation Address, Romualdez also touted in his speech the “exceptional synchronization” between House and Senate leaders in passing key legislation — skipping any mention of the proposed Charter change that has left both chambers at an impasse. 

Romualdez said the House has “done our homework” in passing legislation aimed at addressing food security, social protections and public health, among others. 

The House leader said over the weekend that the lower chamber will “[maintain] legislative momentum” in passing the president’s priority bills despite the approaching midterm elections in May 2025. 

“Our priority is to ensure that critical bills are passed and that the legislative process continues to serve the people's needs effectively,” Romualdez said.

What are the House’s legislative priorities?

Romualdez highlighted at least nine measures out of the 28 that the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) had committed to pass before the end of the 19th Congress, as approved during the most recent LEDAC meeting on June 25.

These are the following:

• the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act
• the Philippine Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program Act
• the Philippine Maritime Zones Act
• amendments to the Right-of-Way Act
• amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)
• CREATE More Act
• VAT on Digital Transactions
• Proposed reforms to the Philippine capital markets

Romualdez also noted, “more importantly,” that the LEDAC agreed to tag the archipelagic sea lanes bill as a priority bill to “strengthen the country’s sovereignty over its archieplagic waters and maritime resources.”

House Bill 9034, or the proposed Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act delineates the Philippines’ archipelagic sea lanes to prevent the unauthorized passage of foreign vessels within the country’s territorial waters and airspace. The lower chamber passed this on final reading in December, while a counterpart Senate measure has been approved at the committee level. 

The House leader, who earlier vowed to “navigate the political landscape with a focus on stability and progress,” also said that the lower chamber’s success would not be possible without the “exceptional synchronization” between the leaders of the Senate and the House.

Congress’ push for Charter change early this year, which Romualdez did not mention as one of the House’s recent achievements, caused strained relations between the House and the Senate after leaders of both chambers could not seem to agree on how to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Word war with the Senate

House leaders traded barbs with senators after the Senate in January unanimously rebuked the House-endorsed signature campaign to change the Constitution through the people's initiative.

At one point, ranking House lawmakers authored and adopted a House resolution urging senators to adhere to inter-parliamentary courtesy. They also criticized the “baseless accusations” that Romualdez secretly orchestrated a way to amend the 1987 Constitution disadvantageous to the Senate. 

RELATED: Romualdez sidesteps allegation he ordered People's Initiative signature drive |  PIRMA confirms coordinating with Romualdez for People's Initiative signatures 

Tensions flared when Sen. Imee Marcos named Romualdez as the mastermind behind the people’s initiative and accused him of offering a P20 million reward for district representatives that could clinch enough signatures.

Romualdez denied this but also admitted to taking on an “advisory” role for proponents of the PI campaign led by the pro-Chacha group PIRMA. 

RELATED: House and Senate at an ‘impasse’ after senators take exception with loyalty pledge 
 
In March, the House passed on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses 7 that seeks to relax economic restrictions in the 1987 Constitution in advertising, education and public utilities. 

In the same month, private pollster Pulse Asia released a survey showing 88% of Filipinos do not support revisions to the Charter.

Just less than a quarter or 24% were in favor of allowing foreigners to own schools or universities, followed by foreign ownership in media and advertising (19%) and communications and internet companies (19%).