Solon pushes for special session to pass economic recovery measures 

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. File photo

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker asked President Rodrigo Duterte to call for a special session for the passage of economic recovery measures as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, who chairs the House ways and means committee, said that the special session is needed in the event that the House of Representatives and the Senate are unable to pass an economic recovery plan to supplement the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

“We need both by June if we want a V-shaped recovery,” Salceda said, as he noted that House intends to pass its stimulus recovery program before it adjourns in early June.

According to Salceda, House has already passed the old version of CREATE Act, which is the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA).

The lawmaker added that House will even adopt the Senate version if members of the upper chamber pass it on Monday or Tuesday next week.

“We have to get both of these measures done now. I would of course prefer to have them approved for the President’s signature next week, but if we cannot, the best alternative is a special session,” Salceda said.

“Our hesitation to do special sessions in the past was due to constituency work. We wanted to take advantage of breaks, in the past, to serve our districts. With the rules that allow us to convene virtually, we can do both constituency work and legislation during the scheduled adjournment,” he added.

Delay is costly

Salceda said that a delay in the passage of an “adequate” economic recovery plan costs the economy up to P100 billion in new economic activity every week.

“Every single week that we are unable to pass an economic stimulus plan and the corporate tax reform causes us hundreds of billions of pesos in foregone opportunities every week,” Salceda said.

“At that rate, hindi na po kayang palagpasin pa hanggang [it can’t afford to go past] July. June is the time to get them enacted into law, so that we can still reap the benefits in the second half,” the lawmaker added.

For Salceda, “any imperfect bill will be much better than no reform by June.”