Do they care?
President Duterte signed into law republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to recover as One Act— more popularly known as Bayanihan 2—in september 2020 to provide a unified response to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. A total of P165.5 billion was allocated for Bayanihan 2 to fund the Covid response of various government agencies, which were given until December 2020 to use the funds allocated to them.
Bayanihan 2 exposed the poor absorptive capacity of some implementing agencies, which said they needed more time to use the funds beyond the December 19, 2020 deadline. Under the law, anything unspent would revert to the National Treasury. Upon the request of Malacañang, Congress last year extended the availability of the appropriations under Bayanihan 2 until June 30, 2021.
According to the May 31, 2021 financial report on Bayanihan 2 from the Department of Budget and Management, a total of P18.4 billion in unobligated funds for critical pandemic response are about to expire on June 30. These include allocations to the following agencies:
Department of the Interior and Local Government—p873 million for the hiring and training of contact tracers.
Department of Health—p6.6 billion for laboratory testing services and hiring of human resources.
Department of Education—p4.6 billion for digital education and basic education continuity, plus subsidies and allowances for qualified students.
Department of Agriculture—p1.2 billion for priority programs for affected farmers and agricultural workers.
Department of Labor and Employment—p560 million for various programs to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on formal and informal workers.
Department of Public Works and Highways—p1 billion for roads leading to tourism destinations that require these transport infrastructure facilities.
Department of Social Welfare and Development—p1.3 billion for Covid-19 response and recovery interventions.
Commission on Higher Education—p1.96 billion for subsidies and allowances for students and for the development of smart campuses.
Department of Transportation—p4.6 billion for service contracts for public transport workers.
Much-needed as these funds are, the P18.4 billion earmarked for the above-mentioned government agencies would revert to the National Treasury with the expiration of Bayanihan 2 on June 30, 2021. Only Congress can extend anew the availability of the appropriations under Bayanihan 2 beyond June 30, 2021.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Salceda said last Friday that with the impending expiration of Bayanihan 2, funding for contact tracers and human resources for health hired under Bayanihan 2 will also lapse. In a letter to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Salceda said the House of Representatives must conduct special sessions to enable its members to approve the extension of Bayanihan 2. “Without such extension, provinces potentially face a situation of having their contact tracing and health-care response capacities drastically reduced for at least 26 days (from the law’s expiry to the opening of session on July 26),” the Albay Second District representative said.
Bayanihan 2 will expire in nine days, which means, per Salceda and 48 civil society groups, the unspent P18.4 billion allocated for vital services as part of the pandemic response will revert to the National Treasury. Will President Duterte call a special session of Congress to extend its life? Will Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco act on their own to extend anew the availability of the appropriations under Bayanihan 2? Or, can the leaders of both branches find another fix, such as having Executive agencies and the budget office move on them, without calling a special session? Do our leaders care?