MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte should call a special session of Congress to allow the passage of a third round of stimulus package to help struggling families amid the COVID-19 crisis and to augment the country’s dwindling coffers for pandemic response, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.
“I urge the President to call a special session of Congress to pass the proposed Bayanihan 3 and expand the government’s cash subsidy program amid the spike in COVID-19 cases,” Drilon said.
Drilon said the government-imposed lockdown, touted as being among the longest in the world, had left nearly 8 million families hungry and about 7 million individuals jobless.
“This is the situation that we have to prepare for. We cannot let another 7.6 million Filipino families go hungry this year. Our inaction or delayed action can make another 7.3 million Filipinos lose their jobs again this month. We cannot let businesses permanently shut down,” Drilon said.
A special session of Congress, which is on break until May 17, will allow the Senate and the House of Representatives to swiftly pass bills that will give emergency cash subsidies to vulnerable households and beef up the government’s dwindling pandemic war chest, he said.
Speaker open to session
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said he was open to conduct a special session to tackle pending bills seeking to provide another round of stimulus package.
“Yes, if need be,” Velasco told reporters in a text message on Tuesday when asked if he was OK with conducting a special session to discuss the proposed third COVID-19 aid package.
“If Malacañang certifies the bill as urgent, we will comply,” Velasco said, referring to the Bayanihan 3 bills filed at the House of Representatives.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III also expressed openness to the idea with the caveat that there should be enough fiscal space to cover the costs. “A special session is OK if necessary,” he said.
Enough funds
But Sotto said the Department of Budget and Management must guarantee that there would be enough resources to fund a third economic stimulus package.
In February, House leaders led by Speaker Velasco and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo filed House Bill No. 8628, or the Bayanihan to Arise As One Act, also called Bayanihan 3, seeking P420 billion to subsidize small businesses, give cash aids to indigent households and provide assistance to farmers and fisherfolk.
In December, Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto filed his own version of Bayanihan 3, asking for a bigger package worth P485 billion, while Sen. Manny Pacquiao submitted in March a P335-billion stimulus bill.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he had some reservations about the call for a special session.
“Can we still afford more borrowings intended for dole-outs instead of for other productive purposes to boost our economy?” he said in a Viber message.
“The last thing we need is ending up in a ‘Sisyphean’ situation,” Lacson said, referring to futile effort.
“Our best option is to have a sense of urgency and allow the private sector more participation with better flexibility in the vaccination program,” he said.
Under Bayanihan 1, the government realigned about P275 billion from the 2020 budget for pandemic response, while an additional P165.5 billion was earmarked for COVID-19 relief under Bayanihan 2.