As Senate opens 19th Congress, lawmakers vow to fight inflation

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 11:41 a.m.) — The Senate opened the 19th Congress Monday morning looking "to face head-on a struggling economy" recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and international conflicts.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri — presiding officer in the absence of a Senate president and Senate president pro tempore — led the opening of the First Regular Session and the election of officers at the Senate Plenary Hall on Monday morning.

In his acceptance speech as elected Senate President, Zubiri said that the key problems facing the nation today were "food, fuel, fiscal, and the fading faith of the people in our institutions." 

"Jobs created, hunger reduced, inflation slashed, [Gross Domestic Product] growth, higher school test scores, and middle class expanded are the metrics that should gauge our performance instead of likes, shares, and views," he continued . 

Zubiri said that the Senate under him would excercise oversight to help the national government "remedy deficiencies in the delivery of public services and recalibrate ineffective policies."

"Oversight of those who implement or ignore the laws will also be conducted... For us to do our role, we must uphold the Senate’s proud tradition of being independent," Zubiri said as he vowed a Senate that would "solve problems more than find faults."

Zubiri went on to call the Senate's independence "the lynchpin of it's two other hallmarks: industry and innovation."

"We do so not because we are rivals for power for the other branch, but because we are partners for progress. We do so not to compete for influence, but to cooperate for the ways and means on how to bring the nation forward," Zubiri added. 

Zubiri called for senators to "respond urgently" to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s priority legislation to be announced at his first SONA later.

"Let us view [Marcos' bills] in the proper context – that this is not a presidential wish list he crafted on his own, but rather, a President articulating what the people want. So let us respond to what the people want urgently."

Marcos' first SONA

Senators are set to proceed to the House of Representatives in the afternoon for a joint session of Congress to witness President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address.

In a past statement, Zubiri said that the Senate will prioritize passing a national budget that will include funding for a stimulus package that will provide assistance to distressed industries and sectors affected by the pandemic and current economic issues.

Zubiri also said that the Senate is "looking forward to [passing] legislative measures to combat the rising inflation, reinvigorate the economy, lower the prices of basic goods, and strengthen education policies."

Sens. Robin Padilla, Raffy Tulfo, and Mark Villar were welcomed as the chamber's neophyte senators. 

Returning to the upper chamber of Congress are Sens. Alan Peter Cayetano, Chiz Escudero, JV Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, and Loren Legarda.

Sens. Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Joel Villanueva, and Zubiri are also beginning their second consecutive terms after winning their re-election bids. 

"Experts have almost no room for error. Even if they and the president have a clearer and deeper understanding of the problems-there is no certainty as to which step will lead to salvation and which will further immerse us," Hontiveros said earlier at the State of the People Address. 

"The relentless increase in commodities, fuel prices, what can our government do now to alleviate the suffering of our countrymen...We want to know how to stop smuggling. What kind of assistance can be given to farmers so that the price of goods can go down and our farming here and fishing can be prosperous; how will fishermen be protected; how to increase the salaries of our countrymen," Poe also said of her expectations for Marcos' SONA.