By Ben R. Rosario
Hard work and decisive leadership demonstrated by House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez are among the factors that triggered a surge in the net satisfaction ratings of the House of Representatives and the House official in two recent Social Weather Stations surveys.
Reacting to the fourth quarter survey, House Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu and Reps. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez (PDP-Laban, Negros Occidental) and Alfredo Vargas (PDP-Laban, Quezon City) said that the chamber’s passage of vital measures that benefit majority of Filipinos is also a factor for the positive ratings.
The survey said that the House rating remained good at +43, up nine points from +34 three months prior.
Alvarez’s rating rose from neutral to moderate in the separate survey where he earned +14 or six points higher than his +8 rating last September.
“The decisive leadership and hard work made his ratings go up,” said Benitez, chairperson of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
Benitez noted that Alvarez is the only House Speaker who effectively disciplined House members.
He cited the no-tardiness and no-travel during session days rule that Alvarez has instituted, among other reforms, in the House.
On the other hand, Abu believes the Filipino people appreciated the fact that not only has the House tackled more measures this year, it also helped pass a number of important laws that would directly benefit them.
In a press statement, Vargas said the survey indicates that the Filipino people welcome the major changes and development at the House with the efficient stewardship of Alvarez.
“The Duterte administration has a strong ally in Congress that legislates effective reforms needed toward the betterment of the Filipino as a nation,” said Vargas as he described the House Speaker as a hardworking no-nonsense and effective leader.
According to official data, House members filed 8,528 measures since the 17th Congress opened in July 2016. Of these, 6,911 were bills while 1,617 were resolutions.
Data also showed that congressmen processed 2,100 measures during the past 145 session days during the First Regular Session and the opening of the Second Regular Session of the 17th Congress for an average of 14 measures per day.
The chamber passed 518 bills and resolutions of which 41 were enacted into law.
The House has already lined up several priority measures that it would take up when the chamber resumes session on Jan. 15.
Among these priority measures are proposals for Marriage Dissolution, with Alvarez as principal author of one of several bills for this purpose. The proposals provide alternative means of severing marriage ties without the high cost and adversarial process.
Other important legislative measures the House are expected to tackle in 2018 include the proposed new Bangsamoro Basic Law, meant to address the root causes of the armed struggle of Moros in Mindanao, as well as the proposal to convene Congress into a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution and establish a federal form of government in the country.
