The Senate formally opened the second regular session of the 19th Congress on Monday morning, July 24, hours ahead of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation (SONA).
Twenty-three out of 24 senators were present during the roll call.
Only Senator Pia Cayetano was absent as she is presently in New Zealand, heading the Philippine Women's National Football Team delegation in the FIFA Women's World Cup.&nbsp;
The chamber then approved and adopted Senate Resolutions No. 681 and 682 which respectively inform the House of Representatives and the President that "a quorum is present in the Senate" and "that the body has entered upon exercise of its functions for the second session of 19th Congress".&nbsp;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
23 senador ang present sa pagbubukas ng 2nd Regular Session ngayong araw, Lunes, Hulyo 24. Wala si Senator Pia Cayetano sa nasabing session. | via RH 28 <a href="https://twitter.com/RaymundDadpaas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RaymundDadpaas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SONA2023?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SONA2023</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DZRHSpecialCoverage?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DZRHSpecialCoverage</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SamaSamaTayoPilipino?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SamaSamaTayoPilipino</a> <a href="https://t.co/Hcj7zj0an9">pic.twitter.com/Hcj7zj0an9</a>
&mdash; DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/dzrhnews/status/1683302446444212225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In his speech, Senate President Juan Miguel 'Migz' Zubiri vowed that the Senate will "improve the bills" before passing them.
"We will purge the bad provision and replace them with the good. But the Senate is not a mere processor of policies originating from other branch. We also nurture our own," he added.
Zubiri underscored that bills are not "the President's request but the people's request".&nbsp;
The Senate President then enumerated some priority bills slated to be passed by end-year, including the Ease of Paying Taxes bill, the Waste-to-Energy bill, the National Employment Action Plan, the Across-the-board legislative wage hike, the E-Governance Act, the Internet Transaction Act, and the legislative measure modernizing Defense agencies.
He also vowed that Senators will thoroughly scrutinize the 2024 national budget.
"Every measure bound for the President's desk will pass through our quality control. Not a single bill will be enrolled unless it is fundable or shovel or rolled out already," Zubiri furthered.
The Senate will joint session with the House of Representatives to watch and listen to Marcos' second SONA this afternoon.&nbsp;

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Senate formally opens second regular session of 19th Congress