FIVE leaders of the House of Representatives on Sunday expressed elation over the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing that 53 percent or majority of Filipinos are satisfied with the performance of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
Reps. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte), Dan Fernandez (Sta. Rosa City), Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano (Abang Lingkod Partylist), Bienvenido Abante (Manila) and Romeo Acop (Antipolo City) thanked Filipinos for their continuing support for their leader in the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives.
They are part of the Quad Comm or the four-committee panel tasked to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into possible connection of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and human rights violations committee in the course of former President Duterte’s bloody anti-drug war.
The five leaders attributed the significant rise in Speaker Romualdez’s satisfaction rating partly to his commitment for the House to tirelessly exercise its oversight power through the conduct of inquiries to try to address the people’s daily concerns and make life better for them.
“Congratulations to Speaker Martin for gaining 16 points increase in his satisfaction rating. This only proves that truly in his steering of the House, he follows the dictum of ‘action speaks louder than words’. No politics, no non-sense in the bills passed, no let up in the inquiries conducted by the committees and no sacred cows or special treatment to anyone. Ito ay trabaho lang walang personalan. Ramdam ng taongbayan ang trabaho ng Kongreso ngayon bagamat maraming bumabatikos ngunit hindi mababago ang direksyon na ihatid ang serbisyo ng gobyerno sa tao at gawing layunin ang tunay na pagbabago sa ilalim ng bagong Pilipinas,” Barbers, who chairs the committee on dangerous drugs, said.
“Sa direksiyon ng House leadership, patuloy ang aming imbestigasyon sa drug trafficking at sa mga drug syndicate para mahinto ang salot na ito sa ating lipunan,” Barbers said.
Fernandez, who heads the committee on public order and safety that has started its POGO inquiry, said Quad Comm would now take over his panel’s probe into illicit POGOs and the criminal activities they cause.
He said Speaker Romualdez has been alarmed by the numerous crimes that illegal POGOs have produced, including kidnapping, money laundering and human trafficking.
“What was more alarming is that these illegal activities involved Chinese nationals, though some of the victims are our own compatriots,” he said.
Paduano is chairman of the committee on public accounts, which has opened its own probe into illegal drugs, POGOs and illicit land acquisition by Chinese nationals.
“We should stop these activities before they cause more harm on our nation and people,” he said.
Abante, who heads the committee on human rights, said he would pursue his committee’s investigation into EJKs and human rights violations through Quad Comm.
“We have to render justice to the victims and their families, and exact accountability on those responsible for the senseless killings and human rights violations,” he said.
Acop, a lawyer and former police general, chairs the committee on transportation and is a vice chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs.
He has extensively participated in the POGO, illegal drugs and EJKs inquiries.
Acop said the exercise by the House of its oversight function brings relief to people suffering from abuse and government neglect.
The recent SWS survey, conducted from June 23 to July 1, 2024, included a sample of 1,500 adults nationwide and has a ±2.5% margin of error.
Speaker Romualdez saw a 16-point increase in his rating, rising from +37 in March 2024 to +53 in July.
The survey revealed that 53% of respondents were satisfied with the Speaker’s performance, while 24% were dissatisfied.
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