House leaders file P1.5-T economic stimulus bill

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and other House leaders yesterday filed a bill setting a P1.5-trillion stimulus program to jumpstart the country’s economy severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

House Bill 6709 seeks the allocation of P500 billion, starting this year until 2022, for programs anchored on infrastructure spending and job creation, especially in the provinces, to address the impact of the quarantine measures implemented by the government to combat the disease.

The proposed measure, entitled CURES or COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus Act, aims to gear state infrastructure spending toward maximizing the creation and preservation of jobs, particularly in rural areas.

“Although palliative measures such as cash transfers, unemployment dole outs, relief and other forms of support are necessary at the moment, it is in the interest of the government, private sector and the Filipino people that a lasting cure for economic resilience be established,” read the bill.

Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte, co-author of the measure, said the bill also seeks to increase government spending not just on major infrastructure projects but also on health, education, agriculture, local roads infrastructure and livelihood programs.

“With this measure, we hope to provide a significant stimulus for accelerated economic recovery under the ‘new normal’ scenario, alongside President Duterte’s centerpiece program Build, Build, Build and further complemented by the ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program for long-term food selfsufficiency,” Villafuerte said.

He said infrastructure projects outlined in the bill would be undertaken in conjunction with the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa” program initiated by Sen. Bong Go and later institutionalized by President Duterte with the issuance of Executive Order 114.

Under HB 6709, the CURES fund would be available for projects ranging from barangay health centers, municipal and city hospitals to digital equipment for testing, “tele-health” services and e-prescriptions to post-harvest facilities and food terminals, among others.

Funds would also be available for farm-to-market roads, roads connecting communities to schools and health facilities along with the livelihood program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Tupad program and Barangay Emergency Employment Program of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Cayetano and Villafuerte were joined by Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; Deputy Speakers Paolo Duterte and Loren Legarda; Reps. Eric Yap, Maria Laarni Cayetano, Michael Defensor and Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado in filing the bill.

House members also pushed for a higher budget for scientific research and development.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero and Assistant Minority Leader France Castro said there is a need to invest more in R&D to better prepare the nation for future pandemics.

Romero, who represents 1-Pacman part-list, said the budget allocation for R&D through implementing agencies is limited only to P16 billion or about four percent of the P4.1-trillion national budget for this year.

“We have to learn from this lesson and invest big on R&D. We’ve seen how crucial this sector can be in times of pandemic,” he said.