Congress Watch

During the plenary session, the chamber passed via voice vote House Bill 9875, otherwise known as the proposed Free Professional Examinations Act.

House Resolution 1595, which was filed Monday afternoon, seeks to use the unspent appropriations allocated to PhilHealth for premium subsidies, providing immediate financial relief to the country's economically vulnerable workers.

Senators will now start working with the members of the House of Representatives in a "professional" manner after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez met and shook hands during former Senate president and Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile's 100th birthday celebration in Malacañang.

In a press conference on Thursday, House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin lauded the Senate for approving the PHP100 daily wage hike bill on second reading, but the amount is still insufficient to meet the basic needs of workers' families.

In a press conference, Palawan Representative Jose Alvarez said foreign ownership restrictions in the Constitution have discouraged would-be foreign investors despite the passage of the amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and the Foreign Investment Act.

Deputy House Speaker and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar on Monday urged her colleagues to pass a bill seeking to protect and provide health and financial assistance to waste workers throughout the country.

Sa gitna ng patuloy na iringan ng Kamara at Senado para Charter change, nagbabala si Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers sa mga senador na maaaring matuloy pa rin ang people’s initiative (PI) kung sakaling mabigo ang Kongreso na aprubahan ang reporma sa economic provisions ng 1987 Constitution.

Binatikos ni Senador Chiz Escudero ang hamon ni House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe na ipahayag sa publiko ang kanilang posisyon hinggil sa mga amyenda sa economic provisions sa 1987 Constitution.

In her petition, Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Party-list Rep. France Castro said the ruling by the city prosecutors against her complaint "undermines efforts to address online threats, contributes to normalizing violent rhetoric, and erodes public trust in the legal system's ability to handle explicit threats from those in power, effectively deterring dissent."

The Committee on Public Order and Safety cited former Philippine National Police-Southern Police District (PNP-SPD) director Brig. Gen. Roderick Mariano and former SPD comptroller head Col. Charlie Cabradilla in contempt upon motion of ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.