THE House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms has expressed confidence that the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act remains on track despite a heavy legislative workload, including impending committee deliberations on the four impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
As nationwide consultations on the long-debated reform measure concluded in Cagayan de Oro City, the committee said it is targeting to finalize its report and elevate a consolidated substitute bill to the plenary before Congress goes on Lenten break on March 18.
The timeline issue was raised during a press conference at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, where lawmakers were asked whether impeachment proceedings could derail the measure.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, chair of the committee, said the House is structurally capable of handling multiple major issues at the same time.
“That’s what makes the House unique because we can have a lot of things simultaneously. Kaya naman ’yan,” he said.
Adiong stressed that committee jurisdictions operate independently.
“There are committees that are in charge of certain bills. Like in my case, I don’t worry myself with impeachment — my focus is this bill,” he said.
“So whether or not there are other things that the House should focus on, my primary consideration and my primary priority is how to carry this over to the next stage, which is the committee report,” he added.
The four impeachment complaints against the Vice President are expected to be referred to the House Committee on Justice next week, a move likely to further intensify lawmakers’ already demanding legislative agenda.
Adiong said his panel will now consolidate inputs gathered from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao into a substitute bill merging 24 filed measures, including House Bill No. 6771 authored by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos.
He urged sectors, including business groups and local government units, to submit position papers to further refine the proposal.
Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan backed the committee’s confidence in completing the measure on schedule, citing the House’s track record of handling complex and high-profile legislation while meeting timelines.
“I’m also confident that the House will be able to tackle these bills in a prompt manner because even though we are members of several different committees and some of us are also chairmen of different committees, my personal experience has been that we have always been capable enough to finish tackling these bills in a timely manner. So kaya ’yan, kaya natin gawin ’yan,” he said.
Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Jane Elago noted that other long-pending priority measures — including the national minimum wage bill and legislation expanding protections against technology-facilitated gender-based violence — are also advancing.
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