Duterte submits 1st report to Congress on COVID-19 response under Bayanihan 2

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte submitted Monday his first weekly report on the government’s COVID-19 response under the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” or Bayanihan 2.

Just like the first Bayanihan law or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the President should submit a weekly report to Congress of all acts performed in relation to the government’s efforts against the pandemic.

The Bayanihan 2 also allows the President to realign funds to support the government’s COVID-19 response.

Under the law, there is a stimulus package of P140 billion in regular appropriation and P25 billion as standby funding.

The biggest share of the budget will go to loans for sectors hit by the pandemic like micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, transport, tourism, and agriculture.

It also provides for the government’s health-related responses like including the retroactive payment of the P100,000 hazard duty pay for health workers; employment of existing emergency health workers; and risk allowance of public and private health workers attending to COVID-19 patients, among others.

Duterte submitted his report as the country nears its seventh month under various levels of community quarantine to curb the virus transmission.

To date, the Philippines recorded 324,762 COVID-19 cases, of which 5,840 have died and 273,123 have recovered.

Below is the copy of the President’s report made public by Malacañang on Monday evening:

KGA