Duterte hit for delay of ‘Bayanihan 2’

MANILA, Philippines — An opposition lawmaker criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for the delay in the enactment of the proposed P165-billion Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which was passed by Congress last month and transmitted to Malacañang last week.

The delay could be aggravating the situation of struggling businesses and affected communities who would benefit from assorted relief packages in the bill, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a statement.

“Why is President Duterte taking so long to sign the bill on… Bayanihan 2 after he announced the necessity of its immediate enactment?” he said.

Lagman noted that the enrolled Bayanihan 2 bill was received by the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office on Aug. 27 for transmittal to the Office of the President.

Release of relief stalled

“Although the P165.5 billion appropriated under Bayanihan 2 is meager and already delayed as a response to the ongoing pandemic, the failure of the President to sign it into law further stalls the release of the minuscule relief to affected citizens and distressed businesses,” he said.

The lawmaker also took the Duterte administration to task for apparently not using the billions of pesos in foreign borrowings in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported in June that the Philippines’ total loans approached P9 trillion as of May, growing by P975.2 billion compared to the same period in 2019.

“It is amazing, as well as suspicious, why the foreign grants and loans from multilaterals as well as the local borrowings generated by the BTr have not been used as funding sources for Bayanihan 2 in order to have a bigger and more adequate outlay,” Lagman said.

P165-B fund

The Bayanihan 2 proposes a P140 billion budget outlay with a P25 billion standby fund.

The biggest share of the budget will go to soft loans for badly-hit sectors such as micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, transport, tourism and agriculture, according to the proponents.

Like the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the bill provides for an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 to affected low-income households in areas under granular lockdown and to households with recently returned overseas Filipino workers.

It also allocates subsidies and allowances to qualified students in both private and public elementary schools, high schools, and colleges whose families were affected by work stoppage amid the lockdowns, and a one-time cash aid to displaced teaching and non-teaching personnel.

An additional P13.5 billion was allocated for health-related responses, including the retroactive payment of the P100,000 hazard duty pay for health workers effective February 2020, continuous employment of existing emergency health personnel, augmentation of operations of Department of Health hospitals, and a risk allowance for health workers attending to COVID-19 patients.

Another P3 billion will be used to purchase masks, face shields and personal protective equipment, while P4.5 billion will be used for the construction of temporary isolation and quarantine facilities.