The Senate is mulling the passage of more bills ahead of the midterm elections in May next year.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the chamber is halfway through the third regular session of the 19th Congress with 72 bills already signed into law under his leadership.

He stressed the Senate is focused on its mandate to pass laws that will help the government “achieve its development plans, strengthen Philippine sovereignty, further enhance the viability of the country as an investment destination, and improve the lives of Filipinos.”

“We maximized each session day and leveraged every hour, minute, and second on the Senate floor. We passed 108 bills in total. Of these, 72 reached the President’s desk and were signed into law, including 11 LEDAC priority measures,” Escudero said in a statement on Friday.

He said many of the laws resulted from the inquiries conducted by the various Senate committees in support of legislation.

“Our hearings, probes, and exposés did not merely serve dinner table gossip for the people’s entertainment. These brought to the table a bounty of bills that will fill plates, sustain families, and nourish Filipinos for generations to come,” he said.

Escudero credited the Senate’s accomplishments to his colleagues and the chamber’s staff and employees “who worked tirelessly to deliver meaningful legislation to the people and the country.”

“Indeed, in the past year we weathered typhoons, braved stormy public opinion, and navigated choppy political waters,” he said.

“We overcame these challenges because our 23 senators, strengthened by diversity, sharing a common vision and united in purpose are more than the sum of its parts,” he added.

Escudero said the 72 laws were enacted from the start of the third regular session on 23 July 2024 until the adjournment for the Christmas break on 18 December 2024 — where most recorded measures were from the 19th Congress.

Based on Senate data, a total of 19 laws were enacted, including bills approved during the latter part of the 18th Congress, in the first regular session from 25 July 2022 to 2 June 2024.

Further, 54 measures passed in the second regular session were enacted, while five were vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., from 24 July 2023 to 24 May 2024.

The 108 bills approved by the Senate on third reading during the Escudero-led third regular session was seven times more than the 14 bills passed in the combined first and second regular sessions.

With this, 44 bills have been transmitted to the Office of the President for the President’s approval, including the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. Seven other bills are pending action at the bicameral conference committee level.

The Senate also adopted 106 simple resolutions and nine concurrent resolutions in the first half of the third regular session.

Escudero said each measure went through rigorous and thorough deliberations.

“We did not sacrifice quality for quantity, scrutiny for speed or consensus for expedience in passing these measures [with] each bill undergoing the crucible of deliberation and debate, carving out the extraneous, the excessive and the unconstitutional,” he said.

He noted that the strict vetting of bills prevented any veto by the President.

Escudero vowed the Senate would “pass as many bills as possible that are pending in the chamber once sessions resume in January.”

“We will make the most of the remaining session days to continue giving the people the public service they deserve,” he said.

The 19th Congress will adjourn on 14 June 2025.