House panel eyes passage of Bayanihan 3 bill this week

The House of Representatives is working on a P370-billion Bayanihan 3 bill, which is expected to pass at the committee level this week or next week, according to House tax chief Rep. Joey Salceda.

In an online interview on Monday, Salceda said the joint House committees on appropriations and economic affairs would meet to discuss the proposed Bayanihan 3, which will contain “lifeline measures” that will be funded in a way that would not increase the country’s deficit.

“In all likelihood, there will be a third Bayanihan measure. It will be deficit-neutral, if my work with [Finance] Secretary [Carlos] Dominguez succeeds,” he said.

Salceda said the proposed third round of stimulus package would be composed of measures to immediately alleviate poverty and hunger.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo earlier filed House Bill No. 8628, or the P420 billion Bayanihan to Arise As One Act, also called Bayanihan 3.

He said the draft of the technical working group on Bayanihan 3 included P108 billion for universal basic income of P1,000 per head, with another P108 billion in standby funds; P12 billion in direct funding for assistance for individuals in crisis situations of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and P3 billion for Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients.

The Bayanihan 3, he said, would likely include the P54- billion Pension and Gratuity Fund for retired military and the police.

In a Viber message to the Inquirer, Quimbo said the Duterte administration should use the savings from the 2020 national budget to provide additional aid for poor residents of Metro Manila and four nearby provinces.

Quimbo said it would be premature to realign the intelligence and the anti-insurgency funds in the 2021 budget for cash aid. INQ