Marcos Jr. Enters Final Two Years Facing Stalled Legislative Agenda

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly a year since the start of the 20th Congress, only one of the 52 bills identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) as priority legislation has been enacted. Dr. Alicor Panao, an Inquirer data scientist and associate professor at the University of the Philippines, made the assessment in a July 19 analysis, a little more than a week before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 27. The measure signed into law was Republic Act No. 12317, which reset the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and extended the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority. Panao said the postponement had long been the subject of debate and criticism, especially among those concerned that “delays could slow the region’s transition toward a fully elected parliamentary government.” RELATED STORY: SONA 2026: What lies ahead for Marcos in his final 2 years “The rest of the administration’s priority agenda remains incomplete,” he said. Of the 52 measures, only five have reached the bicameral conference committee stage: amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act; the National Center for Geriatric Health Act; the Blue Economy Act; amendments to the Universal Health Care Act; and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations Act. Only one has been approved by both chambers of Congress: amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which was enacted in 2017 to promote access to college education. Fifteen have passed only one chamber, including the proposed Anti-Fake News and Disinformation Act, amendments to the 4Ps Act and the Anti-Political Dynasty Act, which the House of Representatives passed in the past two months. Thirty-one bills remain pending at the committee stage in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, Panao said, noting that several long-standing reform proposals “have yet to secure final congressional approval.” “The numbers reveal the challenge of converting legislative priorities into policy outcomes,” he said. “The limited number of enacted measures suggests a widening gap between the administration’s policy commitments and its legislative accomplishments.” Panao said Ledac was created to align the legislative agendas of the executive branch and Congress, making the progress of its priority measures an important indicator of the administration’s ability to build consensus and deliver reforms. “The timing makes the gap more consequential,” he said, noting that Marcos is entering the final two years of his six-year presidency, “when presidential influence traditionally becomes harder to sustain.” “This challenge is further complicated by declining public approval and the continuing impeachment proceedings involving Vice President Sara Duterte, which have consumed significant political attention and may constrain the administration’s ability to focus its bargaining resources on its legislative agenda,” he said. READ: Marcos’ trust rating at 34%, Sara Duterte at 57% in SWS June poll Panao said the challenge for the Marcos administration was no longer identifying what needed to be done but determining whether it still had enough political capital to accomplish it. “Passing reforms can strengthen public confidence and reinforce governing coalitions, but continued delays risk creating a cycle in which weaker policy delivery further erodes the political support needed to advance the remaining agenda,” he said. /dm