Gov’t calls for special Bayanihan session

Malacañang will ask Congress to hold a special session for the bill extending President Duterte’s emergency powers to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and funding a stimulus package to revive the pandemic-hit economy.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the executive branch and the legislature have threshed out a proposed extension of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, a law that granted Duterte additional powers to respond to the pandemic. The law, or Republic Act 11469, expired on June 25. “There is no timeline yet

but it was the first time I heard (Finance) Secretary (Carlos) Dominguez saying that more or less, they have threshed out (the proposal) and it was the first time he confirmed that we would request a special session from Congress,” Roque said at a press briefing yesterday.

He noted the special session would be held before the President delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address this month. The President’s SONA marks the start of a new regular session in Congress.

Roque said the stimulus package would cost P140 billion, the amount that the government can afford as it grapples with lower tax revenues due to limited business activity.

Last Tuesday, Roque said there was no need to rush approval of the extension of the Bayanihan Act, with the government still having enough resources to respond to the pandemic. The extension may be discussed during the regular session of Congress, the Palace spokesman had said.

The administration, however, has decided that the passage of the bill is necessary.

“Secretary Dominguez said we need it so I am announcing that we will be asking for a special session because it seems that the content of the Bayanihan II legislation has been threshed out,” Roque said.

But for militant groups like the Bagong Alyansang

Makabayan (Bayan), the Duterte administration must first explain how the P275-billion fund under the first Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was spent before asking the Congress to hold special session to extend the measure.

“Before calling for a special session in order to pass the Bayanihan 2, it is just proper that an accounting and audit report regarding the P275billion fund from the first Bayanihan Act be presented,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said in Filipino.

“It is hard to accept that the President would be asking for additional powers and funds without any clear explanation on how the Bayanihan 1 was implemented,” he said.

He also said the Duterte administration must explain the delayed distribution of cash assistance under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) as well as questionable medical-related expenditures.

“What happened to the SAP? Why is it that until now, the government has yet to complete the target cash distribution to 18 million families?” Reyes said.

“What happened to healthrelated expenditures, particularly the purchase of personal protective equipment, testing kits and testing facilities? Why is the actual daily testing so low despite the government’s claim of high testing capacity?”