Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced on Sunday that the Senate, under his leadership, has successfully passed nine out of twelve priority measures in a remarkably short period of time.

Among the priority measures approved by the Senate in a span of 30 days are Senate Bill 2779, or Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law; SBN 2455, or the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act; SBN 2221, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers; and SBN 2492, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

According to Escudero, the nine proposed measures approved by the chamber since he was elected as new Senate President on 20 May, are now just waiting for the signature of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The remaining key measures are awaiting action at the bicameral conference committee level, and one is up for approval by the House of Representatives.

All-in-all, a total of 106 bills, including those that are local in scope, were approved on third reading, 26 of which have been enacted into law since May 20.

“We acted with urgency on the priority measures of the President, which were also part of the common legislative agenda of both chambers of Congress,” Escudero said.

“Again, this is more about the quality of laws rather than quantity. These are high impact laws that Malacañang and Congress agreed upon to prioritize,” he added.