The ‘republic of investigations’

In their individual self-assessment or “report card” of sorts, the respective top leaders of the 19th Congress credited themselves with so much legislative accomplishments. Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez came just short of giving themselves a grade of “O,” as in outstanding outputs.

But the work in Congress is the collective effort of all members in both chambers.

So no one on his own can claim the work done in the crafting of any one measure approved into law in Congress. Surely though, the Senate chief and the Speaker deserve to get a pat on the back for steering their respective chambers to set the legislative agenda they agreed to pursue.

In the Upper Chamber, there is what they call the 24 “independent republics,” referring to the 24 senators. As of last count, the number of the House of Representatives stood at 307. Of this total, 55 are party-list representatives that were elected nationally, unlike the regular congressmen and congresswomen who get elected in their individual congressional districts. The House grew bigger with the additional congressional districts created by gerrymandering laws the present and past Congresses approved.

To their credit, Escudero and Romualdez carried out the tasks in shepherding the priority bills of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM). Most especially, the priority bills that were identified and chosen as the common legislative agenda (CLA) by both Malacañang and Congress.

The CLA is reached at the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) that the President convenes, with the key leaders of Congress and select Cabinet members in attendance. Created by law, the LEDAC serves as a consensus-building mechanism through which the two co-equal bodies can discuss the CLA as priority measures. But under its mandate, the LEDAC does not bind either Malacañang or Congress to the CLA, precisely because it is just an “advisory” body.

The Senate chief cited the Upper Chamber has passed 72 bills into law, 11 of which were LEDAC priority measures, including the newly signed 2025 GAA. Escudero took over as Senate president halfway through the third regular session of the 19th Congress when he replaced former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri. “While challenging because of the start of the campaign for the 2025 elections and with the 19th Congress adjourning on June 14, 2025, the Senate will make the most out of its remaining session days to continue giving the people the public service it deserves,” Escudero vowed.

The Speaker, on the other hand, proudly reported that the Lower House also approved 61 of the 64 priority measures under the CLA. Aside from the passage of 27 of the 28 LEDAC priority measures, the Speaker aims to finalize the remaining LEDAC and House priority measures. “We are well on track to achieving our legislative goals under President Marcos’ administration,” Romualdez promised.

On the part of Malacañang, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) counted 11 priority bills in the LEDAC list that were enacted last year, including measures that seek to generate additional revenues, assert the country’s maritime rights and to entice more investors. The PCO further cited that PBBM signed more than a hundred local bills into law in 2024. All of which, the PCO touted, were “highly valuable and aligned with the government’s pursuit of national progress.”

It was only the late president Fidel V. Ramos who regularly convened the LEDAC. Subsequent presidents later relegated the LEDAC to a very minor role and delegated this task to their respective executive secretaries. It was reduced even in name and called as “mini-LEDAC” meetings at Malacañang, with the Executive Secretary presiding. After all, the Executive Secretary serves as the so-called “little president.”

PBBM rightfully chose former Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin as his Executive Secretary. The 75-year-old saved the day for PBBM in getting PBBM out of the constitutional quagmire. Assisted by PBBM’s economic managers, Bersamin sifted through the controversial “insertions” and realignments that dragged down the Congress-approved 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Exercising the line-item veto powers of the President, a total of P194 billion worth of congressional “insertions” and re-alignments were removed from the Congress-approved budget law. Much of the realignments went to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), more than what the education sector got.

Thus, the presidential vetoes reduced the 2025 GAA to P6.326 trillion from the original total of P6.352 trillion. However, administration critics led by the left-leaning Makabayan bloc in the 19th Congress were un-impressed. They threatened to question before the SC the 2025 GAA, which took effect on the first day of this year. They invoked our country’s 1987 Constitution which mandates that the State should provide to the education sector the biggest amount in the government’s annual budget.

Queried if the presidential vetoes on the 2025 GAA were merely in response to public reactions, Bersamin riposted to reporters: “You (should) give him (PBBM) more credit than you give him now. He is not a lawyer. (But) he is more of an economist, a finance guy, a political guy.”

“Because even without the calls for strict scrutiny, the President will always see to it that he does that. We do that. Alam niyo, si President, magaling si Presidente, di niyo lang kasi binibigyan ng credit eh kasi di nagmumura,” Bersamin added. He might have had in mind former president Rodrigo Duterte and his profanity-laced language.

The 19th Congress will reconvene on Jan. 13. The congressional investigations on ex-president Duterte wrapped up and recommended his prosecution for the extrajudicial killings during his administration’s all-out war against illegal drugs. Conducted as “inquiry in aid of legislation,” our Congress has become the “republic of investigations.”

The leaderships of the 19th Congress though assured the public that these inquiries won’t get in the way of their legislative duties to pass priority bills of national importance. But our lawmakers are not willing to investigate themselves on who made which illegal “insertions” into the 2025 GAA.