House to pass 2024 budget, priority bills before yearend

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is targeting to deliberate “extensively” and pass the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for next year before the end of 2023, Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

At the same time, Romualdez on July 7 noted the chamber will fast-track the approval of the remaining 20 bills tagged as priorities during the 2nd Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting last week.

He noted the House will work tirelessly when session resumes this month when the President delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“With our firm commitment to approve the remaining priority measures agreed upon during the LEDAC meetings, various House panels will continue working during committee deliberations of the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program,” he added.

Romualdez said when the plenary deliberations of the national budget begin, some House committees may be authorized to “pursue the performance of its mandate of passing vital pieces of legislation.”

He gave assurance that the House will be working overtime to comprehensively scrutinize the national budget by virtue of its “power of the purse” mandate and, at the same time, craft priority measures of the Marcos administration.

If the output of the House during the first year of the 19th Congress is any indication, the Speaker expressed confidence that the chamber can accomplish its goals for the rest of 2023.

“If members of the House of Representatives will work with the same passion and vigor they exhibited during the First Regular Session, I have no doubt that we can do better this time around,” he added.

Records showed that during the first 10 months of the 19th Congress, the House processed a total of 9,600 measures: 8,490 bills, 1,109 resolutions and one petition. This is an average of 30 measures for each session day.

The House also approved on third and final reading 33 out of 42 bills listed as priority measures of President Marcos and the LEDAC, which form part of the total 577 bills passed on final reading, including the P5.268-trillion 2023 national budget.