Congress special session on COVID-19 postponed – Sotto

MANILA, Philippines — The special session of Congress wherein measures on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are expected to be tackled has been postponed, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Friday night.

The said special session will instead be converted to a meeting in the Palace “with House counterparts,” Sotto said.

“We will discuss tomorrow how to empower and give the [government] the flexibility to address the present crisis,” Sotto said in a text message.

Sotto said that legislators have to meet first with the executive department to finalize the draft bill for COVID-19 response.

“They want to discuss the parameters para malinaw at mabilis kaya we meet with House counterparts and [executive] department muna to finish the draft bill,” Sotto said.

Meanwhile, Senator Bong Go said that both the Senate and the House have “expressed that they are ready to pass a bill to realign funds in order to help the government address the COVID-19 situation.”

“However, the Executive Branch would like to set a meeting first to discuss these measures further. Hence, we will have a meeting tomorrow with leaders of both Houses of Congress and concerned Cabinet secretaries on how to empower further and give the government the flexibility it needs to address the present crisis,” Go said.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier said the special session is aimed at passing the P1.6 billion budget for the government’s COVID-19 response.

To recall, the House committee on appropriations earlier approved a P1.6-billion supplemental budget for the country’s response against COVID-19.

However, Congress was not able to fully approve the budget before its Lenten break began.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has earlier said that the lower chamber is ready to hold a special session to tackle measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are willing to have Special Sessions to come up with a feasible and pragmatic economic package. We can adopt special rules like online voting if necessary, and practice social distancing measures to accommodate all our members, including those who are currently in self-quarantine,” Cayetano said.

Duterte earlier placed the entire Luzon under enhanced community quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Under the enhanced community quarantine, “strict home quarantine shall be implemented in all households; transportation shall be suspended; provision for food and essential services shall be regulated; and heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures will be implemented.”