DUTERTE TO CALL FOR SPECIAL CONGRESS SESSION – PALACE
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will call for a special session of Congress for the swift passage of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2, Malacañang said on Thursday.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd informed him that the executive branch would ask the Senate and House of Representatives to convene in a special session after the details of the proposed stimulus package for coronavirus disease 2019
(Covid-19) response and recovery efforts have been ironed out.
“An gm abut ing bali tana man po, noong hulingu lat ni President es at a um bay an, nandoon po si Secretary Dominguez at sinabi po niya sa akin na, halos nagkasundo
na o halos plantsado na ‘yung
Bayanihan 2 at magpapatawag na nga
po ng special session (The good news is, during the last report of the President to the nation, Secretary Dominguez was
there and he told me that they are nearing an agreement, Bayanihan 2 is almost ironed out and we will call for a special session),” Roque said in a radio interview.
The economic cluster has proposed the Bayanihan 2 law, which is patterned after the original Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Bayanihan 1) that granted the President the special authority to adjust fund allocations under the 2019 and 2020 budgets for coronavirus response.
The measure also provided for extra benefits to frontliners especially those who got infected with the disease, and fast-tracked the purchase and importation of medical equipment.
The Bayanihan Act expired on June 25, but Duterte did not certify as urgent any measure seeking its extension or extending the authority given to him to exercise special powers.
Last week, Duterte told the Association of Southeast Nations that he would ask Congress to pass measures to boost the Philippines’ response to the pandemic.
He said among the key areas that need urgent legislative action were the institutionalization of national preparedness and response mechanisms for pandemics and other hazards.
“Covid- 19 is likely to stay with us in the foreseeable future. As we transition to the new normal and move towards recovery, we will once again need the support of the legislative branch,” Duterte said.
Malacañang had repeatedly said that the President’s emergency powers should be extended to allow the government to effectively fight Covid-19, which requires “close cooperation and coordination between the executive and the legislature.”
Congress reopens after an almost two-month break on July 27, starting with Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address.
Majority leader Martin Romualdez said the House is committed to pass House Bill (HB) 6953 or the “Bayanihan to Recover As One.”
“We have to support the President to ensure the country and Filipinos’ survival from this pandemic. The members of the House Majority are in full agreement that we all have to work for the passage of the Bayanihan 2. We will get the job done,” Romualdez said.
HB 6953 seeks to provide recovery and response mechanisms against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to bolster the resiliency of the Philippine economy.
The measure allocates a P162-billion “standby fund” for recovery and response interventions.
This includes P12 billion for the procurement of testing kits; P18 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment’s cashfor-work and other aid programs; P5 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation Program; P21 billion for involuntary separation assistance for displaced workers; and P50 billion for bank loans for businesses.