MANILA – Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Wednesday night said the House of Representatives “worked hard and made change real,” crafting and passing legislation that improved people’s lives.
“We chose purpose over politics. Service over self. And action over excuses,” Romualdez told his colleagues in remarks before adjourning the final session of the 19th Congress.
He reported that from July 2022 to June 10, 2025, House members filed 11,557 bills and 2,393 resolutions, passed 1,565 measures, enacted 287 national and local laws, and processed an average of 29 measures per day in 188 session days.
“But let me be clear: this is not about volume. This is about value. Ang tanong: may silbi ba sa tao (The question is: do these serve the people)? And I say with conviction: yes. These laws mattered. These laws made lives better,” he said.
He said the House secured the country’s sovereignty through the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program.
“We protected our farmers through the anti-agricultural economic sabotage act and revived forgotten industries through the Salt Industry Development Act. We unlocked investments with the Maharlika Investment Fund Act, the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, and the CREATE MORE Act.”
Romualdez said the Chamber also brought education and employment within reach through the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation (ETEEAP) Program Act, and Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act.
He said the country adapted to a digital future with the Internet Transactions Act and the VAT on Digital Services law, and the House laid the groundwork for the sustainable expansion of the country’s energy supply through the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development act and Amendments to the EPIRA law.
“These are not mere statutes. They are strategic shifts. They redefine the role of government — from passive bystander to active catalyst. Batas na may tapang. Batas na may puso. Batas na may saysay (Laws with courage, heart and meaning). We did not legislate for headlines. We legislated for history,” Romualdez said.
He said every measure the House passed was in deliberate alignment with the two cornerstones of national transformation: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas governance agenda, and the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028.
“We translated vision into law. We took the administration’s whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach and turned it into action that benefits every Filipino.”
Romualdez attributed the success of the House in crafting laws “to the strong partnership between the Executive and Legislative branches — a partnership that must continue to deliver for the Filipino people.”
Out of 64 bills in the Common Legislative Agenda, he said the House approved 63 and enacted 33 into law, and passed 27 out of 28 LEDAC priority measures “on time and on target.”
Romualdez said the legislature’s collaboration with the executive branch “was neither automatic nor ornamental – it was deliberate and essential.”
“This unity was never about surrendering independence. It was about aligning our purpose with the priorities of the Filipino people. It was about making government work – not just from Malacañang or from Congress, but as one government, one Republic, one Nation.” (PNA)
