Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday took a swipe at some members of the House of Representatives for wanting to allocate the P10-billion aid for the tourism sector under the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act supposedly for the construction of toilets and roads.
During bicameral panel discussions meant to reconcile the Senate and the House versions of the Bayanihan 2 bill, among the contentious provisions was the P10-billion funding for the tourism industry.
The Senate wanted to allocate the P10 billion for the assistance to tourism enterprises but the House wants the funding to go to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) for tourism infrastructure.
“Ito ang mahabang diskusyon na nangyari dahil ang ibig ng mga kongresista ay ilagay ito sa pagpapatayo ng kubeta at kalsada habang ang Senado naman ay ipinaglaban natin yung position ng DOT (Department of Tourism) na ito ay tulong sa pamamagitan ng soft loans para doon sa mga maliliit na kumpanya na nagsara o nahirapan sa COVID-19 pandemic,” Drilon said in an interview over Teleradyo.
“Uulitin ko lang, ang ibig ng House of Representatives ay ilagay ito sa pagpapatayo ng kubeta at farm-to-market road at iba pang infrastructure sa ilalim ng TIEZA,” he added.
Eventually, senators and congressmen were able to reach a compromise regarding the aid for the tourism sector before the Senate ratified the reconciled Bayanihan 2 on Thursday.
Of the P10 billion, P6 billion is earmarked for soft loans for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism sector, P3 billion will be given to the Department of Labor and Employment for displaced tourism workers and P1 billion will be given to the Department of Public Works and Highways for tourism infrastructure.
“Hindi po kubeta at kalsada ang gagawin kung hindi ibibigay sa mga manggagawa na natanggal at nawalan ng trabaho at para doon sa mga kumpanya sa tourism industry,” Drilon went on.
Defending the House
The P10-billion tourism aid package also caused tension in the Senate’s plenary session prior to the ratification of the measure.
A piqued Senator Pia Cayetano came to the defense of House members after she called out supposed insinuations of her colleagues in the Senate that some congressmen were advancing personal gain in pushing for the allocation of the P10 billion for tourism infrastructure.
“I want to put on record that I was a member of the House of Representatives, I have met very honorable people from the House of Representatives who also fight just like you and me for their constituents,” said Cayetano, whose brother is House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Senator Sonny Angara, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and led the his colleagues in the bicameral panel, also clarified that the House members made “very many good interventions” in the Bayanihan 2 bill
According to Angara, it was Speaker Cayetano who intervened and loosened the “deadlock” over the P10-billion tourism aid.
“We may not have broken the deadlock for tourism. They (House) graciously agreed despite their reservations,” the senator said.