Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 30) – President Rodrigo Duterte may not need to call for a special session of Congress to pass a law that will grant special powers for COVID-19 response anymore, his spokesman said Tuesday.
“Sa ngayon, wala pa po tayong request na mag-special session. Mukhang kakayanin naman na i-discuss itong Bayanihan 2 during the regular Congress [Right now, we do not have a request for a special session. It seems possible for the Bayanihan 2 bill to be discussed during regular Congress sessions]. After all, the State of the Nation [Address] is just around the corner in July,” Roque said in his media briefing.
Congress reopens after an almost two-month break on July 27, starting with Duterte’s fourth SONA.
The economic cluster has proposed the Bayanihan 2 law, which is patterned after the original Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which granted the President the special authority to adjust fund allocations under the 2019 and 2020 budgets for coronavirus response. The measure also provided for extra benefits to frontliners especially those who got infected with the disease, and fast-tracked the purchase and importation of medical equipment. This expired on June 24.
Roque said the proposal will provide for a ₱10 billion testing subsidy to provide for additional tests, as well as a ₱15 billion budget for a cash-for-work program, which includes salaries for 50,000 contact tracers. This will also include a ₱17 billion subsidy for public transport.
Roque said the Department of Finance is capping the cost of the proposed law at ₱140 billion. A separate measure called the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, will serve as the stimulus package from the Executive, which combined is said to be worth ₱846 billion, lower than the ₱1.3 trillion proposal pending in Congress.
Economic losses due to lockdown measures amid the pandemic are pegged at around ₱2 trillion, the President’s economic managers earlier said.
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