Even if the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act expired on June 25, it does not mean the administration would stop its efforts to fight COVID-19, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
“While the Bayanihan Act may have lapsed, this [does] not prevent the national government from addressing the threat of COVID-19,” Roque said in a statement.
“The President continues to exercise all and every means at his disposal to protect public safety and the lives of our citizenry in the state of public health emergency and the state of calamity, which unquestionably exist to this day,” he said.
Likewise, Roque said the expiration of the law did not necessarily mean the national and local government could no longer impose curfews and prohibitions on mass gatherings as these are covered by other laws.
“Although the law has lapsed, it is not accurate to state that the government can no longer enforce curfews, or any prohibitions on mass gatherings … Local ordinances that remain in effect may still be enforced,” he added.
National emergency
The Bayanihan law, or Republic Act No. 11469, declared a national emergency and specified 31 powers the President could use to contain the COVID-19 epidemic. But most of these powers are already enshrined in the Constitution and other laws.
Congress, meanwhile, has already drafted different versions of a new law they call “Bayanihan 2” with a price tag ranging from P140 billion to P162 billion. But the executive branch wants the measure to be limited to P130 billion.
Roque said the President might summon a special session of Congress if both agree on an amount the national government could fund.
The executive department appeared more interested in two economic stimulus proposals that could reach P2.8 trillion. These are the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines and the COVID-19 Unemployment Reductions Economic Stimulus bills. The House has approved its version of the two measures but the Senate has only passed its version of the Bayanihan 2 proposal.
Quarantine extension urged
Sen. Sonny Angara said Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte Jr. was setting up a meeting between Senate and House members next week to discuss the three measures and Villafuerte is just waiting for feedback from the executive branch on the proposed stimulus bills.
Any new proposals could be incorporated in the House version of the bill because its version is still in the period of interpellations and amendments, he noted.
Meanwhile, two senators urged an extension of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila as COVID-19 cases continued to rise.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said they supported the extension of the GCQ for a few more weeks.
Zubiri said it would not be easy to decide since the economy has already contracted.