THE House of Representatives passed 18 of the 52 measures prioritized by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) before Congress went on Holy Week break. House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos credited Speaker Faustino Dy III for the passage of the priority bills. "We even passed the bill giving the president the power to reduce or suspend the excise tax on petroleum products, because this is what our countrymen need: immediate relief from high fuel prices and the corresponding increases in the costs of basic goods, transport and other commodities," Marcos said. The approved proposed legislations include the bill moving the first regular elections in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, National Center for Geriatric Health measure, amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, measure strengthening the Energy Regulatory Commission, waste-to-energy bill, amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations bill, amendments to the National Building Code, blue economy bill, national reintegration bill, amendments to the Teachers Professionalization Act, bill extending the estate tax amnesty, department of water resources bill, amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law, bill abolishing the travel tax, digital payments bill, amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, presidential merit scholarship program bill, and amendments to the Biofuels Act. The House adjourned last Wednesday and will resume session on May 4. Six Ledac priority measures were already approved by concerned mother committees at the House: the bill to modernize the Bureau of Immigration, amendments to the Magna Carta for micro, small and medium enterprises, disaster risk financing insurance bill, classroom-building acceleration program bill, bill reprogramming the seal of good local governance, and right to information bill. Twenty-five other Ledac priority measures were under deliberation at either the committee or technical working group level. Based on the House's Bills and Index Service, 8,705 bills and 927 resolutions were filed. "The numbers show a working House, but more important than the numbers is what they represent: laws in progress, reforms taking shape, and a chamber that has kept moving even under a crowded calendar," Marcos said.