00:00The Senate and House of Representatives leaders met today to discuss the direction of the Congress,
00:08especially since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s sona is nearing.
00:12And one of the things they are waiting for is whether the legalization of divorce in the country is included in the priority list.
00:20Mela Lesmora is in the center of the news live.
00:24Audrey, we are waiting for the results of the two leaders of the House and Senate,
00:32but just now, a congressman asked to include in their priority legislation, the divorce bill.
00:40In a forum earlier, Albay First District Representative Edsel Lagman spoke,
00:46that finally, the House of Representatives has transmitted to the Senate the bill pushing for the legalization of divorce in the Philippines.
00:54This is the House Bill No. 9349 or Proposed Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage.
01:02This was passed by the House of Representatives on May 22 in the third and final reading of the House of Representatives,
01:07but it was delayed in transmitting because of an issue with the number of votes in the plenary.
01:13According to Lagman, the issue has been resolved and now, it is in the hands of the Senate to pass the divorce bill.
01:20Today, House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Cheese Escudero met to discuss the direction of the Congress
01:31under the new leadership of the Senate.
01:33Also, the State of the Nation address of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is nearing.
01:39If Congressman Lagman is the one to ask, he would like the two leaders to discuss the divorce bill.
01:46Aside from this, there are other bills that the Congress wants to give priority to.
01:54We have no control in their discussion, right?
01:58I hope it will be a priority.
02:00But even if it is not a priority, our campaign in the Senate will continue to pass this bill.
02:08What are my priorities?
02:10First of all, I want the Senate to approve my bill on the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act.
02:23If the creation of a special committee on human rights is true,
02:32the Congress should pass this bill in favor of the creation of a special committee on human rights.
02:45Audrey, for now, we are waiting for the results of the help of Speaker Romualdez and Senate President Cheese Escudero.
02:52But Audrey, this help is very important, especially in the implementation of the programs and projects of the Marcos administration.
03:00Because Audrey, we know that in the Congress, there are budgets that the government is legislating to fund these programs.
03:09Audrey, we expect that anytime today or tomorrow, there will be two committees to discuss what they can agree on.
03:18Okay Mela, while we are waiting for the results of the help of House Speaker Romualdez and Senate President Cheese Escudero,
03:27is there any news on the priority bills that they are discussing for now?
03:36Audrey, for now, what Speaker Romualdez is saying is that their priority is the initiatives for our economy.
03:44And Audrey, here in the camera, almost all the priority bills of the administration from the Ledax priority bills have been passed.
03:53So Audrey, the camera is waiting for the new set of priority bills that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will announce.
04:01But aside from that Audrey, here in the camera, there are also local bills, the bills for the development of their districts.
04:09We expect that Speaker Romualdez will also pass those bills to the Senate so that it can be passed into law.
04:15Audrey, of course, our lawmakers are also waiting for the upcoming Ledax meeting where the Senate and the Camera will discuss the priority bills
04:26that they will pass when the Congress returns to session.
04:31Thank you very much, Mela Lesmoras.
04:34A Senator has recommended to Senate President Cheese Escudero to conduct an inquiry into the implementation of the contract in the new Senate building.
04:46This is in the middle of Escudero's delay in the construction of the new Senate building because of the rising expenses.
04:55Daniel Manalastas is in the center of the news.
04:59The Senate Committee on Accounts Chairperson Alan Peter Cayetano has clarified the construction of the new Senate building.
05:07In a Facebook Live, according to Cayetano, the construction should continue while the review is ongoing.
05:13He said that this is only the third phase and that the possibility of bankruptcy has not started yet.
05:20According to the news, phase one and phase two, this is bid and this is ongoing.
05:26The construction that we are reviewing can continue. There is no conflict.
05:31There is a part that was negotiated for a billion pesos.
05:34I agree and support the decision of the Senate President and this will not cause delays because we have to find out if the amount is correct and the construction is correct.
05:47Cayetano sent a letter to Senate President Francisco Escudero dated June 7, 2024,
05:54where Cayetano recommended to SP Cheese to conduct an inquiry into the implementation of the contracts in the new Senate building.
06:03But he also has an appeal.
06:05What I am asking is, let's not speculate. If there are three words I want to use, first is review.
06:10We are just reviewing. Secondly, it should be factual.
06:15Suspicion, speculation, assumption should not be here. It should be factual.
06:22And number three, independent. Just because you told me it's P100 million for this, that doesn't mean that automatically we will believe it. It should be factual.
06:36According to Sen. Aimee Marcos, it's right to review the overall budget for this.
06:42But the senator clarified that there's no point in talking about it.
06:47I support the decision of our new SP, Cheese Escudero.
06:52I admit that I didn't focus on the new building because I'm ashamed to move to a new building.
06:59It's a building that is in need of food, money, and livelihood of the people.
07:04And the Senate has an expensive building. I'm ashamed of it.
07:08Daniel Manalastas for Pagmansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
