Bayanihan 2 obligates Duterte to submit monthly report to Congress, COA

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will be required to submit to both Congress and the Commission on Audit (COA) a monthly report on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 bill.

“The Office of the President will collate reports from various agencies na may assignment dito sa Bayanihan 2,” Senator Sonny Angara told reporters in an online interview on Thursday.

These agencies include the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Transportation, and Department of Trade and Industry, among others.

“Hindi lang sa Congress [magsa-submit ng report]. In-expand ‘yung reportorial requirements to the COA,” he added.

Under the first Bayanihan law, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of Bayanihan 1, Duterte’s office was required to submit a report to Congress every week.

But the reconciled version of the Bayanihan 2 bill approved by Congress’ bicameral conference committee only mandates the President to submit a report every first Monday of the month.

This monthly report should contain the “targets and actual accomplishments of government programs, strategies, plans, and efforts relative to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as relevant and more granulated health-related data.”

The terms and conditions of any loan entered into by the government to finance the programs and projects mandated under the proposed law should also be included in the report, according to the bill.

Further, the President’s office should also include in the report a table which would detail the breakdown of expenditures and funding sources for the programs and projects under the measure, among others.

The Bayanihan 2 retained the authority given to Duterte under the Bayanihan 1 to reprogram and realign funds from any government agency under the executive department, as well as government-owned or state-controlled corporations, “to augment the allocation for any item needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Bayanihan 2 bill, seen to replace the expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, also lays out the country’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan and allocates funds to help struggling sectors cope with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The reconciled version of the Bayanihan 2 bill has already been ratified by the Senate.

The House is expected to ratify the bicam-approved Bayanihan 2 early next week.

Once the reconciled measure is ratified by the Senate and the House of Representatives, it will be transmitted to the Office of the President for Duterte’s signature.

And once enacted into law, the Bayanihan 2 will be effective until December 19, 2020.

KGA