SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri (seated, second from left) and House Speaker Martin Romualdez (seated, second from right) present two enrolled bills that would be submitted for the signatures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Among those in photo are Senators Imee Marcos, Grace Poe, JV Ejercito, and Joel Villanueva, and Rep. Tobias Marcelo Tiangco. | Photograph courtesy of Senate of the Philippines
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Two bicameral reports ratified by the Senate and House of Representatives are now only awaiting President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signatures to become official laws.
On Tuesday, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez signed the enrolled bills postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and imposing mandatory SIM card registration at Manila Golf Club in Makati City.
"We try to emulate the high standards that he has put there in the Senate in the House so that we could achieve great things together such as these legislations that we have just signed as enrolled bills for transmittal to the President this week," Romualdez said referring to Zubiri, whom he lauded for his "fantastic job" in leading the upper chamber.
Romualdez is the principal author of the lower chamber version of House Bill 14 or the SIM Registration Act, which was approved on final reading on 19 September with 250 affirmative votes, six negative votes, and one abstention.
"We need this law. The text and online scams are very prevalent," Zubiri said.
"Scammers keep on finding creative ways to trick people, and we can't stop or even trace them because they are anonymous. New scam, new SIM, it is that easy," he added.
Zubiri expressed his confidence that Marcos will sign the proposed measure.
"I am confident that the administration sees the urgent need for this bill. We have also addressed the concerns regarding social media registration raised in the previous veto, we are hoping that there won't be any problem with it," he said.
The twin measures were the first enrolled bills accomplished under the first regular session of the 19th Congress.
The enrolled measures were turned over to Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza, who would submit it to the Malacañang for the President's signature — the final action required to convert the two bills into laws.
An enrolled bill is the printed final copy of the approved measure, certified correct by House secretary general Reginald "Reggie" Velasco and Senate secretary Renato N. Bantug Jr.
The Speaker earlier said that the SIM Card Act might become the first measure signed by the President.
