The House of Representatives is prepared to translate into tangible outcomes the legislative visions that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will identify in his third State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

Martin Romualdez, the Speaker of the over 300-man chamber, said the SoNA to be delivered today, 22 July, will serve as the roadmap for the country’s legislative agenda.

This year’s SoNA kicks off the 19th Congress’ third and final regular session. Last week, Romualdez pledged to prioritize the adoption of the 2025 national budget and the remaining Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority bills.

He emphasized that the House is eagerly awaiting the executive branch’s planned P6.352-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP), which would serve as the foundation for the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. He hopes to enact it by the end of September.

The 2025 national budget — 10 percent higher than this year’s P5.768 trillion — would be the biggest national expenditure ever approved by Congress. It is equivalent to 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Department of Health will get the lion’s share of the budget, according to Malacañang.

2025 NEP

The Department of Budget and Management will submit the 2025 NEP to the House of Representatives on 29 July, after it had been reviewed by the Cabinet.

Romualdez emphasized the House’s determination to pass all remaining LEDAC priority bills.

Since the beginning of the 19th Congress in July 2022, the House has achieved significant legislative results, with over 12,000 measures filed and 77 signed into law.

The President signed two bills on Saturday: the New Government Procurement Reform Act and the Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act (AFASA).

The New Government Procurement Act is an important step toward increasing transparency, efficiency, and good governance in public procurement.

The AFASA is a key statute for ensuring the integrity of the country’s financial systems and protecting the people from fraudulent schemes.

Other notable laws enacted include an Act Liberating Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries from Financial Burden, an Act Establishing the Maharlika Investment Fund, an Act Rationalizing Veterans’ Disability Pensions, and an Act Establishing Specialty Centers in Department of Health Hospitals and government-owned and controlled corporations Specialty Hospitals, among others.

Romualdez underlined the House’s commitment to pass the last three LEDAC measures which are scheduled for approval before the end of the 19th Congress — the revisions to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the Agrarian Reform Law, and the Foreign Investors’ Long-term Lease Act.

The Speaker likewise pledged the House will pursue the five new priority measures that were identified during the most recent full LEDAC meeting, which included modifications to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act and the Agrarian Reform Law.

The House has adopted the other three priority measures, which are the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Reforms to the Philippine Capital Markets, and the Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law, on third and final reading.