TACLOBAN CITY — The decision to have him lead the House of Representatives’ Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries has elated a neophyte solon from Leyte province.
Leyte 2nd District Rep. Henry Ong said this is the first time that a first-term congressman heads the committee with jurisdiction on all matters relating to banking and currency, government-owned or -controlled banks and financial institutions, non-government banks and financial institutions, insurance, securities and securities exchange.
“I thank Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for appreciating my efforts in laying down the priorities of Congress in terms of bank and financial intermediaries in the Philippines,” Ong said in a mobile phone interview Friday.
The committee, he said, is one of those panels that is not high on the public and media radar because its work is largely non-controversial and usually land on the business and economy pages of newspapers.
He added that the work they do is important because they affect the personal finances of ordinary citizens and the investments decisions of companies and industries.
“In the past few months, I have kept my focus on financial banking and banking issues that matter to the Filipinos and their families. I want our banks and financial institutions strong and dependable in good times and in bad,” said Ong, who was the committee’s vice chairperson during the leadership of then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Ong said he will link with stakeholders in the banking and financial sector, from bank executives to depositors. He will also meet with officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission and financial regulators.
He said he is positive that within the next two months, the committee will approve on third and final reading four to six bills and approve on second reading six to eight bills. (Lizbeth Ann Abella/PNA)
