House to roll out LegisHear nationwide; next stops are Butuan and Dumaguete
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House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III said the House of Representatives will bring its newly launched LegisHear program to provinces across the country, with Butuan City and Dumaguete City set to host the next rounds of nationwide public consultations aimed at making legislation more responsive to the needs of Filipinos.
Following the successful launch of LegisHear in Isabela on Friday, the Speaker said the House intends to sustain the initiative by working with its members to hold consultations in every region, ensuring that citizens have a direct voice in shaping priority legislation.
“Siyempre, katulad nga nito, ito ang umpisa ng ating programa. Katulad nga ng sinasabi ko, ang aming mga miyembro ng House ay kakausapin namin kung sino ang susunod na magho-host, para tuloy-tuloy ang mga ganitong programa at para talagang malaman namin ang mga panukalang batas na aming isusulong. Hindi kami titigil,” the Speaker said in a press briefing following the LegisHear launch.
The House chief said the consultations form part of the House’s commitment to building a “Bagong Kongreso” that is open, participatory, and responsive by bringing lawmakers closer to communities instead of waiting for citizens to come to Congress.
House Secretary General Atty. Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil in a separate press briefing revealed that the long-term goal of the House is to bring LegisHear to all 81 provinces to encourage public participation in the legislative process.
“Hopefully we can go to all provinces. Pero ’yon aim namin na pupunta kami sa lahat ng probinsya all over the country,” Garafil said.
She said the next LegisHear consultation is being planned for Butuan City before the program proceeds to Dumaguete City as part of its nationwide rollout.
“We want to go muna sa Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. So, Mindanao, Butuan ’yon ang una naming nakikita where we can go,” shared the lawyer. The Butuan leg will be hosted by Butuan Lone District Rep. Jose “Joboy” S. Aquino II.
Garafil said LegisHear is a flagship initiative of Speaker Dy and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos that builds on the success of the House’s nationwide consultations on the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act.
“This is a program actually ni Speaker Bojie Dy at saka ni Majority Leader Sandro Marcos. As you can see mayroon tayong Bagong Kongreso na una nating narinig noong SONA,” she said.
She recalled that the House conducted consultations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao while deliberating the Anti-Political Dynasty bill, giving stakeholders the opportunity to directly contribute to improving the proposed measure.
“So, this was actually inspired by the consultations we conducted noong when we were discussing Anti-Political Dynasty Bill. Sabi nga ni Speaker kanina, pumunta kaming Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and we conducted the consultation of all the stakeholders. Doon namin nakita na interesado ang mga tao pala to take part in drafting and bill consultation.”
Launched Friday in Isabela, LegisHear brings lawmakers, national government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, and sectoral representatives together to discuss priority legislation while delivering frontline government services, ensuring that the voices of ordinary Filipinos help shape the country’s laws.
Joining Speaker Dy at the launch were fellow Isabela lawmakers Isabela 5th District Rep. Faustino Michael Carlos T. Dy III, Isabela 4th District Rep. Joseph S. Tan, and LPGMA Party-list Rep. Allan U. Ty, along with House Secretary General Atty. Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, representatives of participating national government agencies, local officials, and stakeholders from various sectors. (RM)