The House of Representatives has finally completed constituting all its 65 standing committees and 15 special committees in the 19th Congress, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe announced on Thursday.
The lower chamber, during Tuesday's plenary session, has elected PATROL Rep. Jorge Bustos as chair of the House Committee on Veteran Affairs and Welfare, Agusan del Sur Rep. Alfelito Bascug as Chair of the Special Committee on Persons with Disabilities, and Davao Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora as chair of the Special Committee on Strategic Intelligence.
They filled up the remaining vacant posts in the committees.
"All of our standing committees and special committees are 100 percent filled up and ready to carry out their mandate as provided under the Constitution, "Dalipe said.
"I feel relieved that we have finally filled up the organizational gaps. Now we are ready to focus on our primary mandate, which is to create legislations that can make life better for our people," he added.
According to the majority leader, the entire constitution of all the committees is crucial for expediting the Marcos administration's priority legislative agenda and the timely approval of the P5.268 National Expenditure Program for 2023.
The House Committee on Appropriations is slated to wrap up its per-agency budget deliberations on Friday.
The legislators will then prepare for the national budget plenary deliberations, which will begin on Monday.
