Romualdez boasts of House-Senate ‘synchronization’ as Congress reopens

MANILA, Philippines — Assured of the lower chamber’s continued support, House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday opened the third regular session of the 19th Congress with familiar promises to swiftly pass the Marcos administration’s priority bills.

Hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his third State of the Nation Address, Romualdez also touted in his speech the “exceptional synchronization” between House and Senate leaders in passing key legislation — skipping any mention of the proposed Charter change that has left both chambers at an impasse. 

Romualdez said the House has “done our homework” in passing legislation aimed at addressing food security, social protections and public health, among others. 

The House leader said over the weekend that the lower chamber will “[maintain] legislative momentum” in passing the president’s priority bills despite the approaching midterm elections in May 2025. 

“Our priority is to ensure that critical bills are passed and that the legislative process continues to serve the people's needs effectively,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez highlighted at least nine measures out of the 28 that the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) had committed to pass before the end of the 19th Congress, as approved during the most recent LEDAC meeting on June 25.

These are the following:

Romualdez also noted, “more importantly,” that the LEDAC agreed to tag the archipelagic sea lanes bill as a priority bill to “strengthen the country’s sovereignty over its archieplagic waters and maritime resources.”

House Bill 9034, or the proposed Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act delineates the Philippines’ archipelagic sea lanes to prevent the unauthorized passage of foreign vessels within the country’s territorial waters and airspace. The lower chamber passed this on final reading in December, while a counterpart Senate measure has been approved at the committee level. 

The House leader, who earlier vowed to “navigate the political landscape with a focus on stability and progress,” also said that the lower chamber’s success would not be possible without the “exceptional synchronization” between the leaders of the Senate