MANILA - Congress passed into law 970 bills during the Duterte administration, data collated by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group showed.

There were 970 bills that were passed into law in the 17th and 18th Congress, under former president Rodrigo Duterte (July 2016 to June 2019 and July 2019 to June 2022, respectively)

Of the 970 measures:

• 844 were signed by the President into law
• 522 bills in 17th Congress
• 322 bills in 18th Congress

Of the 126 lapsed into law:

• 17 bills during the 17th Congress
• 109 bills during the 18th Congress

THOSE CERTIFIED AS URGENT WERE SIGNED INTO LAW

In his 6 years in office, Duterte certified 40 measures as urgent. Most of them or 33 out of the 40 measures (82.50 percent) became law. He signed 10 of them into law during the 17th Congress and the other 23, in the 18th Congress.

The 33 measures certified as urgent and were signed by Duterte into law are as follows:

• General Appropriations Act, FY 2017
• Postponing the October 2017 Barangay/SK Election to the 2nd Monday of May 2018
• TRAIN
• General Appropriations Act, FY 2018
• Bangsamoro Organic Law
• Revised Agricultural Tariffication Act
• Universal Health Coverage Act
• General Appropriations Act, FY 2019
• Excise Tax Increase on Tobacco Products
• MUP Base Pay Increase
• General Appropriations Act, FY 2020
• Salary Standardization Law
• Excise Tax on Alcohol Products
• Bayanihan to Heal As One
• The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2019
• Authorizing the President to Expedite the Processing of Permits, Licenses and Certifications
• General Appropriations Act, FY 2021
• Extending Availability of Appropriations (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act)
• Extending Availability of the 2020 Appropriations
• Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering
• Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act
• COVID-19 Vaccination Program
• CITIRA
• An Act Improving the Confirmation Process for Imperfect Land Titles, Amending for the Purpose Commonwealth Act No. 141, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the ‘Public Land Act’, and Presidential Decree No. 1529, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the ‘Property Registration Decree’
• Taxing Offshore Gaming Operations
• Resetting the First Regular Elections in the BARMM
• Retail Trade Liberalization Act
• General Appropriation Act, FY 2022
• Extending the Availability of the 2021 Appropriations
• Department of Migrant Workers
• Foreign Investments Act
• Amending the Public Service Act
• Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act

The 8 measures certified as urgent but were not passed in the 17th and 18th Congress were:

• Budget Reform Act
• P1.16 Billion Supplemental Appropriations for FY 2018
• Senior High School Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Act
• An Act Strengthening the Financing System for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development in the Philippines, repealing for the purpose Republic Act No. 10000 or “The Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009”
• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
• Amendments to Republic Act No. 10192 or “The Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016”
• An Act Institutionalizing Anti-Drug Abuse Councils in every Local Government Unit, and for other purposes

NOTABLE MEASURES PASSED INTO LAW

Aside from those measures certified as urgent, Duterte also signed the following notable measures:

• RA No. 10928 – Philippine Passport Validity Extension
• RA No. 10929 – Free Internet Access in Public Places Act
• RA No. 10930 – Driver’s License Validity Extension
• RA No. 10931 – Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
• RA No. 10932 – Anti-Hospital Deposit Law
• RA No. 10962 – Gift Check Act of 2017
• RA No. 10963 – TRAIN Law
• RA No. 11032 – Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018
• RA No. 11035 – Balik Scientist Act
• RA No. 11055 – Philippine Identification System Act
• RA No. 11165 – Telecommuting Act
• RA No. 11371 – Murang Kuryente Act
• RA No. 11470 – The National Academy of Sports
• RA No. 11479 – The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020
• RA No. 11517 – Authorizing the President to Expedite the Processing of Permits, Licenses and Certifications
• RA No. 11524 – Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act
• RA No. 11548 – Increase in SSS Contributions
• RA No. 11589 – BFP Modernization Act of 2020
• RA No. 11709 – AFP Modernization

SENATE AND HOR PERFORMANCE, 17th and 18th Congress

The Senate filed a total of 4,759 bills during the 17th and 18th Congress, based on data obtained from the Senate Legislative Bills and Index Service. Of these, 197 became law while 9 were vetoed by Duterte.

17th Congress, July 25, 2016 to June 4, 2019:

• Senate Bills filed: 2,235
• Enacted into law: 120
• Vetoed by the President: 8
• Pending Conference Committee: 1
• Pending in the House of Representatives: 10
• Pending Second Reading: 86
• Consolidated/Substituted in the Committee Report: 544
• Sent to the Archives: 1
• Withdrawn by authors: 4
• Senate Bills pending in the Committees for Public Hearing: 1,461

18th Congress, July 22, 2019 to June 1, 2022

• Senate Bills filed: 2,524
• Enacted into law: 77 (69 signed, 8 lapsed into law)
• Vetoed by the President: 1
• Passed by both Houses (including 16 measures sent to Malacañang): 20
• Pending in the House of Representatives: 6
• Pending Second Reading: 65
• Consolidated/Substituted in the Committee Report: 542
• Withdrawn by authors: 13
• Senate Bills pending in the Committees for Public Hearing: 1,800

On the other hand, the House of Representatives filed a total of 20,072 House Bills during the 17th and 18th Congress, based on the numbering of measures in the HOR Legislative Information System. According to the Senate’s statistical data, 970 House Bills became law.

17th Congress

• House Bills sent to the Senate for concurrence: 1,126
• Enacted into law: 540
• Lapsed into law: 17
• Vetoed by the President: 10

18th Congress

• House Bills sent to the Senate for concurrence: 1,251
• Enacted into law: 430
• Lapsed into law: 109
• Vetoed by the President: 14 (excluding the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Act, which President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. vetoed on July 1, 2022)