THE House of Representatives has finished organizing its committees after only two weeks since the 20th Congress opened the First Regular Session on July 28.
“The sooner we organize, the sooner we legislate. Every day we save means more time to craft solutions, respond to challenges, and deliver results for our people,” said Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos.
Marcos said that as of August 6, “we are proud to report that in record time, we have filled 76 out of 80 committee chairmanships – 95 percent of the total. This shows how serious we are in getting to work right away.”
Marcos said the House leadership acted quickly so it could start moving “decisively on the President’s ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ legislative priorities.” Historically, he said, organizing the House would take a month or more.
After running unopposed, Speaker Martin Romualdez was re-elected Speaker alongside Quezon Rep. David Suarez as Senior Deputy Speaker and other deputy speakers, and Marcos as majority floor leader and chairperson of the Committee on Rules.
The House also re-installed Secretary General Reginald Velasco and Sergeant-at-Arms retired Police Maj. Gen. Napoleon Taas, not only to reinforce the chamber’s operational stability but to ensure continuity.
The chamber was able to immediately fill out the chairmanships of the Committees on Appropriations, now chaired by Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, and on Ways and Means which is now led by Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo.
The House has also elected the chairmen of the Committees on Justice, Agriculture, Higher and Technical Education, Foreign Affairs, Public Works, Basic Education, Energy, Transportation, Labor and National Defense.
The plenary also reconstituted the quad committee which is composed of the human rights, public order and safety, dangerous drugs, and public accounts panels.
It was also able to finalize the election of 12 members to the Commission on Appointments (CA) and six members to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
