BINIGYANG diin ngayon ni incoming House Speaker at Leyte 1st Dist. Rep. Ferdinand “Martin” G. Romualdez na ang pagpasa ng General Appropriations Act (GAB) o ang 2023 National Budget  ang “top priority” ng papasok na 19th Congress.

Naniniwala din si Romualdez na maipapasa ng 19th Congress ang lahat ng “priority legislations” na ihahatag ni President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. sa loob lamang ng isang taon o ang “first regular session” ng Kamara de Representantes.

“First of all, there’s the budget. Then there’s some follow on what we have already passed in the House and the Senate in the previous 18th Congress. So a number of those have already been refilled,” sabi ni Romualdez.

Ipinaliwanag ng mambabatas na sisikapin nilang maipsa sa loob lamang ng isang taon ang lahat ng panukalang batas sa unang regular session. Ngunit mas bibigyan nila ng importansiya ay ang pagpasa ng 2023 National Budget sa “third quarter o last quarter” ng kasalukuyang taon.

“We will pass all measures within the First Regular Session. Of course the most important is the 2023 budget  which we will pass, definitely well, well within the third quarter or the last quarter rather, and the President will have sufficient time to sign into law before the year ends,” sabi pa ni Romualdez.

Kasabay nito, tiniyak din ni Romualdez na magkakaroon ng pantay na representasyon ang lahat ng partido politikal sa Kamara sa ilalim ng liderato ng 19th Congress.

“We will also go by seniority, merit, experience and of course the initiative to make sacrifice and hard work needed for each of the position,” ayon pa sa mambabatas