Senate sets high bar for efficient lawmaking

The Senate of the Philippines has set a high standard for legislative performance with 72 bills signed into law through the third regular session of the 19th Congress.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero emphasized the chamber’s support for the Marcos administration in achieving its development goals, strengthening Philippine sovereignty, boosting investments and improving the lives of Filipinos.

“The Senate is on pace to become one of the most productive in history. We maximized each session day and leveraged every hour, minute, and second on the Senate floor. We passed 108 bills in total,” Escudero said.

Of the 108 bills, Escudero said 72 reached the President’s desk and were signed into law, including 11 priority measures agreed upon by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

Among the measures were the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, CREATE MORE Act, Amendments to Rice Tariffication Law, Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act, Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act, Blue Economy Act and New Government Procurement Act.

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.

Meanwhile, 19 laws were enacted, including the bills approved during the latter part of the 18th Congress, in the first regular session from 25 July 2022 to 2 June 2023.

Fifty-four measures passed in the second regular session were enacted, while five were vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., between 24 July 2023 and 24 May 2024.

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

While 44 bills had been transmitted to the Office of the President for Marcos’ approval, including the 2025 General Appropriations Bill, seven others are pending action at the bicameral conference committee level.

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

Escudero said each measure underwent rigorous and thorough deliberations, emphasizing that the strict vetting of bills helped prevent presidential vetoes.

He said the Senate will “pass as many bills pending before the chamber as possible once sessions resume in January.”

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

The 19th Congress is set to adjourn on 14 June.