HOUSE Assistant Minority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez was elated over the approval of the Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011 by the congressional bicameral conference committee yesterday morning.

The two-term lawmaker from Leyte said the approved GOCC Governance Act of 2011 will finally put an end to the excessive pays, perks and privileges of the appointed executives and other abuses in government corporations.

Romualdez, one of the members of the bicameral committee, is very vocal in supporting the GOCC Governance Act to eradicate graft and corruption inside the GOCC offices in the country.  

In a press briefing, Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said the bicam approved a landmark legislation which will finally put to an end “what we’ve seen in the past -- the abuses made by the GOCCs.”

The bicameral committee report will be submitted to both houses of Congress -- the Senate and the House of Representatives -- for ratification before it is submitted to the President for signature.

Under the proposed legislation, the GOCC Governance Commission (GCG) will be created to supervise the 157 existing government corporations.

The GCG, Drilon said, is authorized to review the operations of the GOCCs to determine if they should be abolished or privatized subject to the approval of the President.

It will also have the power to review the performance of the GOCCs and professionalize the membership of the GOCC boards.