President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should certify as urgent several reform bills that he identified as priority legislation if he is serious about the anti-corruption drive, several House of Representatives lawmakers said.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, said that without the certification from Marcos on the proposed Anti-Dynasty Bill, Independent People’s Commission Act, Party-list System Reform Act, and the Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability Act, it would look like the administration is just ‘trying to save face.’
Cendaña said this after Palace press officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro on Tuesday said that Marcos has directed Congress to prioritize the passage of the four bills.
‘The politician under pressure will cling to promised reforms. The Palace’s support for these reforms seem more like they’re only trying to save face,’ Cendaña said.
‘The President should show his sincerity. It is not enough that he only prioritizes it. He should certify these bills as urgent ASAP!’ he added.
Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said that Marcos’ pronouncements are a welcome development, but they are disappointed that the bills were not certified as urgent – especially the bill institutionalizing the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill.
‘While we welcome the pronouncement from President Marcos Jr. about certain measures that he thinks Congress should prioritize, we remain disappointed that the proposed IPC/ICAIC Bill and Anti-Political Dynasty Bill were NOT certified as urgent,’ de Lima said on Tuesday.
‘Certify as urgent’
‘It’s as if the order of the people was to certify it as urgent, but what was provided to us was a PR that the bills are considered priority,’ she added.
If Marcos is really intent on prioritizing the bills, de Lima said it should have come with a certification on the measures’ urgency.
‘If it is true that he wants these prioritized, why not see it to the end and make it true? Even if we sound like broken records, we would not get tired of asking the President to certify these as urgent, and for our colleagues to swiftly pass these measures,’ she said.
‘Time is of the essence. With this massive corruption scheme and the apparent connivance to steal public funds, we cannot be too relaxed or so slow in passing laws that would hold the corrupt accountable, initiate the return of stolen wealth, and ensure that this would not happen again,’ she added.
Under the current budget process, bills have to be deliberated by their respective committees, which will then release a committee report containing the updated version of the measure. This will then be referred to the House plenary, where the bill will be discussed again, before being up for consideration on second reading.
In case the bill is approved on second reading, the Constitution requires three days to pass before the same measure is considered for third reading. However, if a President certifies as urgent a bill, Congress can legally circumvent the three-day requirement and approve a proposal on second and third reading on the same day.
Regarding an anti-political dynasty bill, calls for Congress to pass the bill started after several lawmakers filed bills at the start of the 20th Congress. Last July, Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores – despite being part of a political family – also filed a similar bill as he believes it is time for Congress to pass a measure that defines and bans political dynasties.
Flores said last July 4 that he filed the bill banning immediate relatives from succeeding an incumbent elected official even if it was against his own interests, in order to level the playing field.
Talks gained traction after Dy, when Congress’ session resumed last November, said the House will focus on other topics – including a possible Anti-Political Dynasty Bill.
Dy admitted that his statements may be met with raised eyebrows, as his family has been considered a dynasty in their home province of Isabela.
Meanwhile, de Lima has been calling on the House leadership to deliberate and finalize two key measures – opening the bicameral conference committee hearing on the 2026 national budget, and House Bill No. 4453 which seeks to create the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC).
The ICAIC bill seeks to institutionalize the ICI which is currently investigating the infrastructure corruption scheme. However, HB No. 4453 differs from the ICI in the sense that it would grant the independent body more powers like the ability to issue subpoenas on personalities and documents, and cite uncooperative witnesses for contempt.
According to de Lima, the two proposed measures involved are of high significance since both the House and Senate will soon meet for the bicam on the 2026 budget, while the ICI’s fate hangs in limbo. /mr