SENATE GIVES FINAL OK TO BAYANIHAN 2; AUG OK SEEN IN HOUSE

THE Senate approved on third and final reading on Tuesday Senate Bill 1564 or the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2), to allow the government to continue its Covid-19 response and help affected sectors in recovering from the impacts of the pandemic.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, the bill’s author and principal sponsor, said that a total of P140 billion will be appropriated to fund the provisions of the law, a figure which was reached after long consultations with the economic managers. He noted that the Senate had effectively granted President Duterte’s wish, as expressed in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

The House of Representatives version of Bayanihan 2 was hounded by the wide variance between the lawmakers’ estimates of what is needed to boost the second phase of the government’s response to the pandemic, and the resources that economic managers deem realistic to fund the same. The economic team had

noted that government revenues had plunged during the Covid-19 quarantines, as it deferred certain tax collections even as businesses were reeling from the closures and could not pay the usual sums.

Angara affirmed that Bayanihan 2 will effectively extend the validity of the government’s Covid-19 programs and interventions under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which lapsed on June 5, 2020.

“With Bayanihan 2, the government would be assured of sufficient funding for the ramped up testing for Covid-19 and for contact tracing. It will also ensure that our valiant health workers who contract or succumb to the disease will continuously receive financial support,” Angara said.

A hefty part of the Senateapproved Bayanihan 2 will be used “for the procurement of RT-PCR testing and extraction kits and corresponding supplies, including enhancement of DOH capacities in programs involving elimination and control of other diseases, a total of P10 billion will be appropriated,” Angara said.

“The new law will also allow the government to continue providing assistance to Filipino businesses and workers impacted by the pandemic, including our OFWS who were either repatriated or whose deployments were suspended,” he added.

A total of P15 billion will go to the cash-for-work program and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/displaced Workers or TUPAD of the Department of Labor and Employment, he added.

To help the displaced workers, including probationary, project, seasonal, contractual and casual employees in private health institutions, tourism, culture and arts, creative industries, construction, public transportation, trade industries, and other sectors of the economy as may be identified by the DOLE, a total of P17 billion will be provided as unemployment or involuntary separation assistance.

Also included in this benefit package are the freelancers, selfemployed and repatriated OFWS, including OFWS whose deployments were suspended due to a government-imposed deployment ban.

A total of P50 billion will go to government financial institutions Landbank of the Philippines (P30 billion), Development Bank of the Philippines (P15 billion), and the

Philippine Guarantee Corporation (P5 billion) as capital infusion for the grant of low-interest loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

For the agriculture sector, P17 billion will go to the Plant, Plant, Plant program, including cash subsidies and interest-free loans under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council and GFIS.

To assist affected members of the transport sector, a total of P17 billion will go to the Department of Transportation for the provision of interest rate subsidies and the provision of temporary livelihood to displaced workers.

The tourism industry, among the hardest hit by the pandemic, will get P10 billion through the Department of Tourism for assistance to the critically impacted businesses.

For education, P3 billion will help state universities and colleges develop smart campuses to implement the flexible learning modality.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will also get P1 billion as additional scholarship funds for its trainingfor-work scholarship program and special training for employment program for the retooling, retraining and upskilling of displaced workers, including the returning OFWS.

August timeline

PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson Harry Roque said congressmen have given the Palace an end-july or August commitment for passage of Bayanihan 2 and other stimulus bills.

“Yesterday [July 27], the leadership of Congress promised that within the month or by August, they will be able to pass on third and final reading the Stimulus Package and the extension of the Bayanihan to Heal As One 2 [Act]," Roque said in an online briefing on Tuesday.

The House was unable to meet its initial target of passing Bayanihan 2 before it went on recess last month since it was still negotiating with the government economic managers on the amount of the stimulus package.

The Senate passed its version on second reading, and hoped for a Palace certification of urgency until the last minute, in order to skirt the reglamentary three-day gap between second and third readings. It adjourned June 5 without getting the certification; hence, gave its version of Bayanihan 2 third-reading approval only last Tuesday.

As for the House, Roque said both parties—congressmen and economic managers—have finally agreed on the amount, which he said would now fast-track the approval of Bayanihan 2.

Recovery plan

ROQUE said its passage will be crucial for the Covid recovery plan as it will finance the government’s programs for struggling businesses, as well as displaced workers.

Duterte’s fifth Sona drew criticisms from several lawmakers for not containing enough details on the government’s so-called recovery plan for Covid-19.

Roque said while he respects the observation of these lawmakers, he asserted that the Sona bore several measures for Covid-19.

He cited the continuation of the big-ticket projects under the Build, Build, Build program; grant of loans and loan guarantees to businesses; and use of monetary policies to lower interests rates, among others.

Roque noted the Sona also reiterated the government’s gains in the testing, treatment, contact tracing and isolation measures for Covid-19, which he said aims to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Except for being lengthy, Roque said he considers the almost two-hour-long fifth Sona as having effectively relayed the administration’s recent achievements, as well as its remaining goals in the next two years.