Malacañang pleased by ‘very good’ performance of 19th Congress

LAOAG, Philippines  – President Marcos’ legislative affairs adviser has described as “very good” the performance of the 19th Congress in terms of passing the administration’s priority bills, saying lawmakers managed to approve a number of “high-impact” measures.

Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) head Mark Llandro Mendoza said about 70 to 75 percent of the priority bills were passed under the present Congress, an achievement he attributed to the cooperation among lawmakers.

“We were able to pass high-impact bills... In fairness to the 19th Congress, both the majority and minority cooperated so we have a good setup. Even the inputs of the minority were heard. Most of them were accommodated,” he said.

The 19th Congress took a break starting Feb. 7 for the midterm elections campaign period. It will resume session on June 2 and will adjourn on June 14.

Mendoza admitted that the pending priority bills identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) are not likely to be passed during the remaining sessions, as most of the bills that are normally approved during paost-election session are local ones.

PLLO data showed that more than 80 measures have so far been enacted under the 19th Congress.