MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang Palace congratulated the two new leaders of the 17th Congress on Monday, July 25.

“We congratulate the election of Senator Aquilino Pimentel (III) as Senate President and the election of Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez as House Speaker of the 17th Congress,” said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar in a statement.

The election of the two is “auspicious and timely,” said Andanar, because they, like President Rodrigo Duterte, hail from Mindanao.

Pimentel was born in Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental while Alvarez comes from Davao del Norte.

“The election of Senate President Pimentel and House Speaker Alvarez is auspicious and timely. Three of the country’s top leaders came from Mindanao,” said Andanar.

In his presidential campaign, one of Duterte’s major campaign promises was to bring peace and development to Mindanao. (READ: SONA 2016: The Duterte promise tracker)

Pimentel and Alvarez are also partymates of Duterte under political party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). This helps ensure laws, deemed a priority by the President, will be passed.

“We look forward to a pro-active cooperation between the executive and legislative branches. We hope that this would expeditiously address issues and concerns regarding President Rodrigo Duterte’s priority legislative measures for the Filipino people,” said Andanar.

He listed down some of these laws the Duterte administration wants passed: the reinstatement of death penalty, amendments to the Constitution to pave the way for federalism, and reforms to achieve the 10-point economic agenda crafted by businessmen and his economic team.

With the election of the Senate President and House Speaker over, lawmakers will gather at 3 pm at the Batasang Pambansa to listen to President Duterte deliver his first State of the Nation Address. – Rappler.com