Malacañang maintains that the executive branch is on track to pass its priority legislative measures by June, though it expressed uncertainty regarding the timeline of a restructured Senate.
During a press briefing on Monday, May 25, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified that the administration faces no internal hurdles in meeting the targets, pointing instead to recent leadership shifts in the upper chamber.
The Senate recently underwent a major reorganization on May 11, which saw the ouster of now-Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and the installation of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate President.
While the Palace initially stated that the shakeup would not derail the 21 identified priority bills, its tone has since become more cautious.
“[K]ung maaayos pa ba o magiging ayon sa priority bills ng Pangulo – sa Pangulo po ay wala po tayong issue. Wala po tayong issue dahil kung anong nais ng Pangulo para sa taumbayan iyan po ang nais niyang mangyari (As to whether it can still be fixed or aligned with the priority bills of the President—we have no issue on the President’s side. We have no issue because whatever the President wants for the people, that is what he wants to happen),” Castro explained.
“Pero hindi po natin masasagot kung hanggang saan ang kakayahan ng Senado sa ngayon (But we cannot answer for the capacity of the Senate right now),” Castro added, emphasizing that the targeted timeline now hinges heavily on the upper house.
Despite the uncertainty, Castro reiterated that President Marcos remains fully cooperative and willing to collaborate with the new legislative leadership to ensure the delivery of crucial reforms.
“Sila naman po iyong mayroong issue sa ngayon. Sa Pangulo po, kung sinuman po ang leader diyan, basta po ang gagawing trabaho ay para sa bayan at sa taumbayan, hindi po mag-aatubili ang Pangulo na makipag-ugnayan sa kanila. So, hindi po sa Pangulo ang may problema or may issue (They are the ones dealing with an issue right now. For the President, whoever the leader there is, as long as the work is for the nation and the people, the President will not hesitate to coordinate with them. So, the problem or issue is not with the President),” Castro pointed out.
The Palace official also noted that no schedule has been finalized yet for the next Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting.
During the last LEDAC session in February 2026, Marcos approved a 21-measure priority agenda targeted for enactment this June. Among the key proposals are the Travel Tax Abolition, the Anti-Political Dynasty Law, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Elections, and measures addressing online child abuse, digital disinformation, and electoral reforms.