‘House passed 166 laws since 2022’

MANILA, Philippines — The high legislative output of the House of Representatives, with 166 laws produced, has been hailed by the “Young Guns” group of neophyte lawmakers.

“The numbers speak volumes about the commitment of this Congress to making a difference,” the bloc of first-term lawmakers said.

“From the filing of 13,454 measures to the enactment of 166 Republic Acts, this is a testament to the hard work, dedication and unwavering focus of all 307 House members on addressing the needs of the Filipino people,” they said.

With all but one of the priority measures under the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council passed, the lower chamber has been passing an average of five bills per month for the last 29 months.

This is six months short of the 19th Congress’ three-year span, which will end on June 30 this year.

The Young Guns credited Speaker Martin Romualdez’s leadership.

Based on data from July 25, 2022 to Dec. 27, 2024, the House has filed 13,454 measures, including 11,241 bills and 2,212 resolutions, with 1,319 committee reports submitted.

The lower chamber processed 4,760 measures across 178 session days, averaging 12 measures per session day.

“The passage of 166 RAs – 73 national and 93 local laws – proves that the Filipino people are at the heart of everything we do,” the group said.

Among the Young Guns who lauded Romualdez were Reps. Jay Khonghun (Zambales), Paolo Ortega V (La Union), Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur), Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol party-list) and Rodge Gutierrez (1-Rider party-list), Pammy Zamora (Taguig), Margarita Nograles (PBA party-list), Cheeno Miguel Almario (Davao Oriental), Ernesto Dionisio Jr. (Manila), Lordan Suan (Cagayan de Oro City), Mikaela Suansing (Nueva Ecija) and Inno Dy V (Isabela).

The group highlighted the quad committee’s marathon hearings on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), illicit drug trade, land grabbing by Chinese nationals and extrajudicial killings linked to the previous Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.

“These hearings exposed how POGOs facilitated money laundering, fueled the illegal drug trade and enabled unlawful land acquisitions. Most chillingly, they revealed a troubling pattern of extrajudicial killings that underscored impunity and abuse of power,” the Young Guns noted.

The quad comm findings resulted in calls for stricter gaming regulations, stronger financial crime prevention measures and a renewed focus on protecting national interests and human rights.