Political parties, party-list groups back passage of ‘Bayanihan 2’

MANILA, Philippines — Leaders of different political parties and party-list groups in the House of Representatives expressed their support for the passage of the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act or “Bayanihan 2” to cushion the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

In a manifesto sent to the media Thursday, the leaders underscored the need for an economic stimulus that seeks to address and help various sectors affected by the pandemic.

The manifesto was signed by Rep. Walter Wee Palma II of Lakasa-CMD, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of the National Unity Party, Rep. Edgar Erice of the Liberal Party, Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of PDP-Laban, Rep. Wesley Gatchalian of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Rep. Raneo Abu of the Nacionalista Party, and Rep. Sharon Garin of the party-list coalition.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, and Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte likewise signed the manifesto.

“Given our dire situation, the President appealed to Congress in his latest State of the Nation Address to pass a second version of the Bayanihan Law to prevent the spread of the COVID virus and speed up our country’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic,” the lawmakers said.

“Heeding to the President’s call, we now declare our commitment to unifying our respective political parties and party-list organizations in order for the House of Representatives to pass the Bayanihan 2 bill at the soonest time possible,” they added.

The lower chamber approved the measure on second reading on Wednesday night.

Under the House version of Bayanihan 2, a P162 billion fund will serve as an economic stimulus and will be allocated for the following, among others:

• P10 billion subsidies to the National Health Insurance Program to be used exclusively to cover COVID-19 expanded testing and for allocation for COVID-19 confinements;
• P10.5 billion allocated to the Department of Health for continuous employment of existing emergency Human Resource for Health (HRH) and additional emergency HRH hiring
• P3 billion for procurement of face masks, personal protective equipment (PPE) sets, shoe covers and face shields to be provided to all barangay health workers, barangay officials, and other indigent persons that need protection
• P4 billion to finance the construction of temporary medical isolation and quarantine facilities, field hospitals, dormitories for frontlines and for the expansion of government hospital capacity all over the country
• P20 billion for the implementation of appropriate cash-for-work programs for displaced workers
• P51 billion for the infusion of capital to government financial institutions
• P 20 billion to provide direct cash or loan interest rate subsidies in the agriculture and fisheries sector and to finance the Plant, Plant , Plant Program ensuring food security and continuous productivity in the agricultural sector including accessibility through farm to market roads
• P10 billion to finance programs of the Department of Transportation to assist the critically affected businesses in the transportation industry, including the provision of temporary livelihood for displaced workers
• P 10 billion to finance programs of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority to assist the recovery of the tourism industry
• P100 million to finance the training and subsidies for tourist guides
• P3 billion to assist state universities and colleges in the development of smart campuses through investments in ICT infrastructure, acquisition of learning management systems and other appropriate equipment to fully implement flexible learning modalities, including the provision of loan interest rate subsidies

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