House opens third regular session ahead of Duterte's final SONA

The House of Representatives opened its third regular session on Monday morning ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's final State of the Nation Address.

Deputy Speaker Michael Romero presided over the hybrid session at 10 a.m., with 298 congressmen attending both physically and virtually.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco highlighted that Congress has been a steady partner to the Duterte administration, passing laws that promoted economic development, strengthened justice and law enforcement, enhanced labor protection and social welfare, improved education access, and bolstered health and emergency response systems.