Salceda bats for Congress to convene in ‘virtual’ special session

MANILA, Philippines — Albay 2nd District Joey Salceda on Thursday requested Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and President Rodrigo Duterte to convene a special session in Congress that will tackle the socioeconomic impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which, he said, can be done via a “virtual” meeting.

In a statement, Salceda said that the purpose of the special session is “to enact special powers and supplemental appropriations to tackle the socioeconomic impacts of the outbreak of COVID-19.”

“Of course, we need to convene Congress in session to make sure we are equipped with the necessary policy tools hanggang matalo natin ang COVID-19 (until we defeat COVID-19). It does not have to be a physical meeting, Salceda, House ways and means committee chairman, said.

Salceda, in an aide-memoire addressed to Cayetano and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, the representative recommended that Duterte convene a special session of Congress “to ensure that, if necessary, decisive policy action, including funding adjustments, can be made to effectively combat COVID-19.”

Also included in the aide-memoire was for Cayetano to designate a small group that will come up, in consultation with public health experts and economists, with measures to prevent mass transmission, contain the disease, and mitigate its socioeconomic impacts.

House rules will also be amended temporarily, so it can accommodate convening and voting via virtual meetings, which, Salceda said, is in line with social distancing measures.

“Recipe for disaster yan kapag nagsama-sama kami sa isang lugar, kasi kung may infected, eh di lahat ng district nagkaroon ng one case. So it has to be virtual,” Salceda said about the proposed virtual meetings.

(That’s a recipe for disaster if we came together in one place, because if one is infected, then all districts have one case. So it has to be virtual.)

The lower chamber adjourned session on Wednesday night and began its Lenten Break, which lasts for nearly two months.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Department of Health announced.

Aside from his recommendations, Salceda said that he will file a supplemental appropriations bill, which will prioritize “Filipino workers and families in responding to the economic impacts COVID-19.”

“Kasi temporary lang naman ang tama niyan sa ekonomiya, pero ang potential damage talaga sa ordinaryong mamamayan,” he said.

(Because the impact on our economy may only be temporary, but its a potential damage to our ordinary Filipino.)