Salceda: Bayanihan 3 needed because Bayanihan 2 ‘did not work enough’

MANILA, Philippines — There is a need for a third Bayanihan measure because the second one “did not work enough,” Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who chairs the House committee on ways and means, said Monday.

Salceda made the remark as he pushed once again for the passage of Bayanihan 3. The House version of the measure remains pending in the House committee on economic affairs.

“We need a Bayanihan 3 for the simple reason that Bayanihan 2 did not work enough, and the embedded stimulus in the 2021 budget was formed when our expectations of recovery for this year were still optimistic,” Salceda said in a statement.

“We were told that credit stimulus could be leveraged five times. That did not happen. In fact, credit growth shrunk. We were told 2021 would be the start of recovery. In fact, there’s a strong chance we would only see 2019 levels of output by 2022 or 2023,” he added.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo earlier filed House Bill No. 8628 or the Bayanihan to Arise As One Act, also known as Bayanihan 3.

Bayanihan 3 seeks to provide a P420-billion fund to help the country recover amid the economic crash triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The breakdown of the proposed P420-billion appropriation under Bayanihan 3:

• P52 billion for subsidies to small business for wages and other worker-related expenses;
• P100 billion for the capacity-building of businesses in critically impacted sectors;
• P108 billion for additional social amelioration to impacted households through programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development;
• P70 billion for the provision of assistance and capacity-building to farmers, livestock producers, and fishermen;
• P30 billion for the implementation of unemployment assistance and cash-for-work programs under the Department of Labor and Employment;
• P30 billion for internet allowances to primary, secondary, and tertiary students and teachers in public and private educational institutions;
• P5 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the rehabilitation of typhoon-affected areas, including the repair, reconstruction and/or construction of flood control works, roads, bridges, public buildings, and other damaged public works, to be distributed proportionately among affected provinces and cities;
• P25 billion to the Department of Health for the procurement of COVID-19 medication and vaccines, and to finance logistics, information awareness campaigns, and other related operational expenses

With regard to the P108 billion appropriation for additional social amelioration, the measure seeks to provide P1,000 for each household member, irrespective of their economic status.

On top of this, a P1,000 allowance will be provided to each student and teacher and P8,000 for every displaced worker.

“The reason is simple. It’s there because it’s needed. There would not be any clamor for it otherwise,” Salceda said.

READ: Over 220 solons backing Bayanihan 3 bill — Speaker Velasco

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