MANILA, Philippines — Leaders of the House of Representatives on Saturday blasted the alleged “showboating” by some senators who allegedly scoffed at the final version of the approved Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, saying they were resorting to “unethical antics” supposedly “in aid of reelection.”
Deputy Speaker and Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez expressed disgust that a number of senators in the bicameral committee, purportedly led by Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, supposedly took turns at “shaming” the consolidated Bayanihan 2 bill, which they, themselves had approved.
“If our high and mighty senators feel that the consolidated Bayanihan 2 bill was not up to their standards, then why did they approve it during the bicam talks?” he asked.
The measure was ratified by the Senate plenary on Thursday.
On Saturday, Zubiri said he was appalled at the “ridiculous statements” of House members against the senators, insisting that the Senate did not insult the Bayanihan 2 bill nor the House.
Zubiri said House members should get their facts straight, as the Senate did not “scoff” at the ratified bill and did not make insinuations against anybody.
He dared them to identify the specific statements where senators said the bill was not up to standards.
“We never alluded to anyone or any group of any ill motives as shown by the recorded video of that session. It is unfair to the senators for these congressmen to say that we alluded to them. Only the guilty will feel alluded to if ever,” Zubiri said in a statement.
The P165.5-billion Bayanihan 2 bill is the second stimulus measure to be enacted by Congress, aimed at fortifying the government’s coronavirus response, as well as provide aid to the transport and tourism industries which are deemed to have been hardest hit by the pandemic.
The House is set to ratify the Bayanihan 2 bill when it resumes session on Monday after which, the enrolled bill will be submitted to Malacañang for President Duterte’s approval and enactment into law.
But the House leadership on Saturday issued strongly-worded statements in reaction to media reports that detailed how the Senate panel supposedly took a swipe at their House counterparts for allegedly pushing for their “personal gains” which supposedly caused the delay in the approval of the measure.
“It is clear as daylight that these pathetic senators have been seized by political schizophrenia in slyly positioning way ahead of the 2022 elections at the expense of the House of Representatives. This is showboating in aid of reelection,” Fernandez said.
He said the senators “appear conflicted” between taking credit for the passage of Bayanihan 2, and distancing themselves from the measure to please the critics of the Duterte administration.
The Laguna lawmaker said he took offense at the insinuations of Zubiri and his colleagues that the Senate panel had pushed for certain provisions out of “pure advocacy” while their House counterparts had supposedly fought for “a particular personal interest.”
“The truth is a majority of the good features of Bayanihan 2 were actually introduced by the House and were only adopted by the Senate,” Fernandez said.
Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Michael Defensor backed Fernandez’s statement, pointing out that the House had come up with the “superior” version of the Bayanihan 2 bill, with about 40 major provisions introduced by the House contingent and merely adopted by the Senate panel.
According to Defensor, one of the most contentious issues is the House proposal to allocate P10 billion for the infrastructure projects that will be coursed through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.