It’s time for a special session on Covid relief
THE latest tranche of cash assistance to households under strain due to intensified quarantine measures has left most of the public frustrated, if not completely exasperated, at the lack of support to those who need it most. Loud calls have been raised for Congress to create and enact a Bayanihan 3 bill — it would be the third such bill authorizing an expanded government response, including direct financial assistance to distressed families and businesses — but it seems it will require the intervention of President Duterte to prod the legislature to action.
A special session is required because the Bayanihan 3 bill, or whatever it will eventually be named, is essentially an appropriations bill, and as Congress holds the power of the purse, it cannot be enacted and implemented by executive action alone. Although Congress is pursuing some work at the moment, such as committee hearings, it is technically in recess — the scheduled suspension of the legislative session began on March
27 and will run to May 16 when it reconvenes. Thus, work on the relief bill cannot take place without Congress being recalled.
There are two ways this could happen. The House of Representatives and the
Senate could, if a majority in each chamber agrees to it, recall themselves with a joint resolution. The President also has the power to recall Congress, although traditionally it is a power that presidents have tried to use only sparingly for matters that cannot wait for resolution until the regular legislative session, or for initiatives for which there is already almost unanimous backing in Congress.
We strongly believe that the lack of urgency in Congress for a critical matter of public welfare makes the Bayanihan 3 an example of the former, an issue that cannot wait before work is begun on it.
To be fair, the problem lies not with the House of Representatives but, as it has too often in recent months, with the Senate. House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has reportedly said he is open to holding a special session. Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente “Joey” Salceda also said last week that House members, apparently in anticipation of being called back into session, had already informally worked out a basic framework for the Bayanihan 3 measure whereby it could be funded without the government having to resort to additional borrowing.
The Senate, on the other hand, has given the issue little importance. Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd has said that he would not be receptive to a joint resolution with the House for a special session and would only agree to holding one if the President convenes it. Sotto has held to this position, despite giving the concept of “legislative recess” no more than a wink and a nod. The entire Senate has convened as a “committee of the whole” to second-guess the administration’s moves to resolve pork supply and price problems; a pointless exercise that, if it results in any action on the Senate’s part, will have no benefit whatsoever to Filipino consumers.
We must ask why, if the entire Senate can display a sense of urgency to address a matter that only potentially impacts a rather narrow set of special interests, can it not apply that same sense of urgency to a matter that unavoidably applies to all 100 million-plus Filipinos?
Given that the Senate has already demonstrated what it considers important, we can only assume the answer to the above question, if coming from that body, will be deeply unsatisfactory. Therefore, the only solution is for President Duterte to exercise his constitutional prerogative, and call Congress to a special session. Doing so would give the administration, which has expressed concern about its financial resources, a better position from which to guide the legislature on what is practical and what is not. It will also demonstrate to the country that the government, even if does not always make decisions that are popular with everyone, at least has its priorities in the right place; a welcome message that would certainly contribute to public acceptance of whatever measures the Bayanihan 3 bill might eventually provide.
“If the entire Senate can display a sense of urgency to address a matter that only potentially impacts a rather narrow set of special interests, can it not apply that same sense of urgency to a matter that unavoidably applies to all 100 million plus Filipinos?