Senate submits 14 bills for Marcos approval 

Fourteen measures passed by the Senate are now up for the approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., with six more approved on third and final reading before the chamber adjourned for the Lenten break, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a report by Philippine News Agency.

In a press statement, Zubiri said included among the 14 are the Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interest on Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Act, and the Act Further Strengthening Professionalism and Promoting the Continuity of Policies and Modernization Initiatives in the AFP, which were both ratified on Wednesday.

"These two bills are part of the shared priority measures of the administration and the legislative, so we really endeavored to finalize them before adjournment," he said.

"Last Monday, we also approved seventeen bills on third and final reading, including four that are of national application," Zubiri added, referring to the Cultural Mapping Bill, the One Town One Product Act, the "No Permit No Exam" Policy Prohibition Act, and the Act Providing for Moratorium on the Payment of Student Loans During Disasters.

He said that another priority measure moving forward in the Senate is the Mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps and National Service Training Program, which was sponsored on the floor also on Wednesday.

In February, the Senate also concurred in the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, another item in the common legislative agenda of the administration and the legislative.

The Senate President said they expect to work hard and continue to hold committee hearing during the break until sessions resume on May 8.

"Needless to say, the Senate is hard at work, and even though the plenary session is adjourned until May, we will continue to hold hearings and move forward with our priority measures throughout the next few months," Zubiri said.