Philippine House Speaker Martin Romualdez stated that the House will expedite the processing of key legislative agendas, especially to complete the review of important bills including the "Anti-Online Gambling Bill" before the 19th Congress adjourns in two weeks.
Romualdez noted that upon resumption, the House will focus on pushing several bills prepared for the third reading, including House Bill No. 10987, aimed at completely banning online gambling operations within the Philippines. He emphasized that the core goal of this bill is to combat crimes related to online gambling, corruption, and national security risks, and to "close the doors where criminal groups hide in legal gray areas."
In addition to the anti-POGO bill, the House will also advance House Bill No. 11359 on civil registration, House Bill No. 11430 on disaster warning mechanisms, House Bill No. 11395 on institutionalizing crisis assistance, and House Bill No. 11400 on expanding senior citizens' benefits. Romualdez mentioned that these bills are directly related to the welfare of the people, covering health, community safety, and the rights of the elderly.
He also affirmed in the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council meeting that the House has successfully pushed 27 out of 28 priority legislative agendas during this congressional session and noted that since July 2022, the House has proposed 13,868 bills.
Finally, Romualdez called on the congress members to resist the erosion of democracy and truth by fake information and manipulative algorithms.
