MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano assured the public on Monday that the budget for the Bayanihan To Recover As One or Bayanihan 2 will only be used for “public service” and not end up as election funds.
Cayetano made the remark after Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate expressed fears that funds for Bayanihan 2 could end up in the campaign chests of administration candidates in the 2022 elections if not adequately audited.
“Let me assure our good friend, Cong. Zarate, na pam-public service ito (this is for public service). And I think it’s in bad taste for anyone to use it for election purposes but also for people to start accusing na yun ang purpose (it would be used for election purpose),” Cayetano said.
To recall, Zarate warned that Bayanihan 2 will “just concentrate more power and funds to Malacañang”, adding that it could also “be funneled to also fund the campaign kitties of Malacañang’s allies for the upcoming elections.”
However, Cayetano said that it is “unfair” to tag all programs of the government as something that would be used in the elections.
“He’s (Zarate) a friend and a colleague, pero kung sila nagagalit sa Red-tagging, I think it’s unfair na mag-election-tagging sa lahat. Kasi kahit ano namang programa ng gobyerno, pwede mong sabihin na pwedeng gamitin sa eleksyon,” Cayetano said.
(Zarate is a friend and colleague, but if he and his colleagues are complaining about Red-tagging, it’s also unfair to engage in election-tagging. It’s easy to claim that some of the programs of the government can be used in the election.)
“But that’s not the issue. The issue is whether or not maganda yung mga programa na yun (if that program is good),” he added.
Compared to the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act or Bayanihan 1, Cayetano said Bayanihan 2 is a “much smaller program.”
The House of Representatives approved Bayanihan 2 on third and final reading on Monday.
The Senate has earlier approved its own version of the measure. With both houses passing the measure, the bicameral conference committee will settle the disagreeing provisions of the bills.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte called on Congress to pass the Bayanihan 2 to help speed up the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. [ac]