Time to summon Bayanihan law implementors to Congress — solon

MANILA, Philippines — Implementors of the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act should be summoned to Congress to see if they should be held accountable for the actions and decisions they made in relation to the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a lawmaker said Thursday.

Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrrera-Dy said the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee tasked to oversee the implementation of  Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act can hold public hearings and plenary sessions regarding the matter.

“It is time to summon to Congress the implementors of the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act. Enough time has passed since Congress approved RA 11469. The implementors should appear soon before the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee,” Herrera-Dy said in a statement.

“The written reports are not enough. Congressional oversight is a  constitutional way to hold the officials and agencies accountable. This is best exercised through public hearings and plenary sessions,” the lawmaker added.

Section 5 of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act states that Congress shall establish a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee composed of four members of each house—the Senate and the House of Representatives—to be appointed by the Senate President and the House Speaker, respectively.

The oversight committee is tasked to determine whether such acts, orders, rules and regulations implemented are within the restrictions of the law.

“On July 26, President Rodrigo Duterte is set to report to the Filipino people through the State of the Nation Address.  Before that day comes, Congress must know from the Bayanihan Act implementors and COVID-19 response agencies the state of the health of the Filipino people,” Herrera-Dy said.

Herrera-Dy likewise said that workers and COVID-19 implementors must take more aggressive measures to keep COVID-19 out of homes and workplaces.

“Although the death toll has subsided and there are much fewer critical cases and severe cases, we still have thousands of new confirmed cases every week. The curative side is working, but the preventive dimension is full of holes,” she said.

She further pointed out that most of the new cases involved adults who are allowed to go out of their homes to work.

“They get infected while at work or while commuting to and from work.  There is a gap that is not being addressed. Minimum health standards at workplaces are inadequate,” the lawmaker said.

As of June 24, there are 32,295 COVID-19 cases in the country, with recoveries at 8,656 and death toll at 1,204.

EDV