Poe: Bayanihan 2 may be ratified next week

MANILA, Philippines — The measure that would provide a P162-billion fund for the country’s coronavirus disease response and recovery plan may be ratified by the bicameral conference committee by next week, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday.

“We are hoping to finish it at the latest tomorrow to be ratified next week or sometime as soon as possible,” Poe said of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or the Bayanihan 2, during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay online forum.

Poe noted that the Department of Finance was pushing to include the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) and the Acceleration Recovery and Investment Stimulus of the Economy (ARISE) bills in the final version of the Bayanihan 2 bill, but added that this is actually a “point of contention” between some members of the House and the Senate.

“But there are too many details, and I know that usually, a law should just have one particular subject,” noted Poe, a member of the bicameral committee for Bayanihan 2.

“The Senate’s suggestion is not to include the FIST and ARISE in Bayanihan 2, that it will be a separate bill tackled, but we are already infusing close to P50 billion for the Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) so that they may have at least 50 billion to lend out to MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and other companies affected by the pandemic,” she added.

READ: Senate, House agree on P162-B funding for proposed ‘Bayanihan 2’

In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Poe said that to be exact, the funds that will be allotted to LandBank and DBP in the consolidated version of the bill would be P45 billion. She added, however, that the figures are still “fluid till ratified.”

READ: Bicam infuses P45-B fund in Bayanihan 2 for loans to MSMEs – Poe

Under the version of the Bayanihan 2 bill approved by the Senate, P50 billion will be given to government financial institutions as a capital infusion for the grant of low-interest loans to MSMEs.

“Legislation is also about the infusion of funding from the government, so even without particulars of these two bills, there will be funding already,” Poe likewise said.

KGA