Congress studies extending Duterte’s emergency powers
WHILE Congress is deliberating permanent mechanisms to ease the financial burden of Filipinos, lawmakers are proposing to extend the power of President Duterte under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act to suspend further the rent and the payment of bills.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said Congress can extend the power of the President as more people and businesses default on their payments for utilities and rent.
“That’s the most obvious first solution,” Salceda said. “We are studying what other mechanisms can be enacted—there’s a whole range of possible alternatives, from partial payment schemes to the more complex but market-oriented ones like rent guarantees.”
“While we have made adjustments to the loan payment schedules, there will be defaults because defaults are the inevitable fact of financial crises,” he added. Jolted
ACCORDING to Salceda, there is a chance that people may default on their utilities bill, if the behavior of utilities is like that of Meralco’s “shock” bills.
“Some months ago, my suggestion on bills and loans is that we suspend the collection of bills for some time— credit-card payments and loans included—and we spread it out for the rest of the term, or we place the due payments on the back end of the term so that if your lease was, say, for 12 months, you pay the gap month on the 13th month,” he said.
The lawmaker said the Congress must do something “for those who fall through the cracks.”
“I am looking into what we can do. The current Eviction Law makes it a condition that the tenant should have not paid rent for three months before the landowner has grounds to evict the tenant on the basis of nonpayment,” Salceda said. “The twomonth suspension of rent due to ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] makes that a five-month leeway.” Overdue
ANG Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Ronnie L. Ong, meanwhile, urged banks and utility companies to provide more flexible payment scheme to consumers.
“A lot of bills and monthly payments will be defaulted because of the impact of the pandemic,” Ong said. “With this, banks and utility companies should give a more flexible payment scheme and maybe just charge interest for now.”
He added a law should be passed to have straight and direct rules on how consumers should follow.
PBA Party-list Rep. Jericho Jonas B. Nograles said it would be unconscionable for residential and commercial lessors to collect rent from lessees for the lockdown months if the lessees did not utilize the leased premises.
“However, if the leased premises were utilized during lockdown, then rent should be paid in accordance with the contract,” Nograles said. “If, due to financial constraints, the lessee cannot repay rent, then renegotiation for humanitarian reasons should at least be entertained.”
Nograles explained “the fundamental legal question really is whether or not the lockdown should be considered force majeure, an unforeseeable circumstance that prevented any party to fulfill their contractual obligation.
“There are pros and cons to such a general declaration but Congress has yet to debate on that, or a bill, to my knowledge, has yet to be filed on that,” he added.
Vicissitude
FOR his part, Kabayan Rep. Ron P. Salo said that with the economic downturn and joblessness, it is inevitable that many have defaulted and will continue to default on their payment of rent and utilities.
Salo noted that the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act provides that rentals falling due during the quarantine period are given a 30-day extension without incurring penalty and interest.
He explained the subject of rental fees for shops in malls, meanwhile, is addressed by Department of Trade and Industry Circular 20-04, which provides that landlords and owners of business spaces must waive the corresponding rental fees and charges for March 15, 2020, to April 14 2020. These apply to retail stores and establishments located inside malls in the National Capital Region, which were not allowed to operate during the community quarantine.
The Bayanihan law will expire in June unless extended by Congress. Eviction
ON the other hand, Salo said residential rental rates are governed by Republic Act (RA) 9653 or the
Rent Control Act.
He added that the process of eviction is governed by the New Civil Code and the Rules of Court. Salo explained that evictions on residential leases “have massive sociocultural impact as these concerns one of our people’s most basic necessities, which is shelter.”
“Before a tenant can be evicted on account of nonpayment of rentals, the landlord must at least give written notices to the tenant demanding compliance with the conditions of the lease [which is to pay rental, among others] and to vacate,” he said.
Salo explained that from the receipt of the tenant of the demand letter, the landlord must allow at least five days for the tenant to comply with the demand pursuant to Section 2, Rule 70 of the Rules of Court.
“In case of continued noncompliance by the tenant, the landlord is not authorized to forcibly evict him,” Salo said adding the remedy is to institute an action for Unlawful Detainer against the tenant before the regular courts pursuant to Rule 70 of the Rules of Court. Electricity
AS for utilities, Salo said the Energy
Regulatory Commission directed electricity distribution companies to implement a staggered payment scheme amid the lockdown.
He added other major utilities distributor and providers have also voluntarily extended grace periods for payment in order to assist their clients and subscribers during these extra challenging times.
“As a lawyer, I can safely conclude that our laws provide sufficient safeguards for the protection of the interest of both tenant and landlord, the subscribers and utilities providers,” he said. “Outside the legal means, any dispute is best settled through amicable means such as compromise. With our economic concerns, compounded by health risks posed by Covid-19 pandemic, costly and adversarial litigation must be the last option.”
Salo believes that “going through the courts would unnecessarily expose anyone to health risks.”
He added the DTI Memorandum Circular 20-12 provides added protection to tenants.
Salo said under the circular, no eviction for failure to pay the residential or commercial rent due may be enforced within the 30-day period after the lifting of the ECQ.