Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 10) — The impact of the economic decline in the Philippines would not have been as bad had the government been more aggressive in the disbursement of the ₱162.5-billion funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2, a congressman said on Wednesday.
Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said economic contraction would have been reduced from 9.5% to 8.2% in 2020 if only the government was more transparent in the utilization of the Bayanihan 2 funds. She also said that more than ₱252 billion or over 1.3% would have been added to the country’s gross domestic product last year had the funds been disbursed faster.
“Ang ending, ₱252 billion sana ang madadagdag sa kabuuang kita ng ekonomiya and that’s about 1.3% of the GDP,” she explained. “Ibig sabihin kung nagastos natin yung ₱165 billion, sa halip na 9.5% na lang siya, mas maliit, magiging 8.2% na lang ang economic contraction.”
[Translation: In the end, an additional ₱252 billion would have been added to the country’s income and that’s about 1.3% of the GDP. That means if we fully utilized the ₱165 billion, instead of 9.5% , we would have a smaller economic contraction at 8.2%.]
The country’s overall economic performance for the entire 2020 dropped to -9.5%, the sharpest since the Philippine Statistics Authority started collecting data on annual growth rates in 1946. Bank of the Philippine Islands lead economist Jun Neri previously told CNN Philippines that economic stimulus bills passed in Congress also failed to mitigate the economic contraction in the last quarter of the year.
At least 37 lawmakers on Monday filed House Resolution 1558 to look into over half of the ₱140 billion funds that remain unreleased under Bayanihan 2. The measure authorized ₱165.5 billion in emergency relief and spending to finance the country’s pandemic response and recovery, with ₱140 billion falling under regular appropriations and ₱25.5 billion serving as standby funds.
The Office of the President previously said in its report that as of November 2020, only ₱76.2 billion of the ₱140 billion fund has been released.
Quimbo also reiterated her appeal to Malacañang and economic managers to take a “second look” at the newly proposed Bayanihan to Arise as One Act or Bayanihan 3, a ₱420 billion stimulus package that is much bigger than the previous Bayanihan measures. Quimbo and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco are the main proponents of the proposed law.
“I hope they take a close look at Bayanihan 3. It actually culls from a lot of lessons learned under Bayanihan 1 and 2 especially on how to implement and how to disburse the funds better,” said Quimbo, also noting that various loans for the government’s pandemic response could make room for the bill.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said that he “appreciates” the filing of Bayanihan 3, but the full implementation of Bayanihan 2 and other stimulus measures in place should be prioritized under the government’s plan of action to combat the pandemic.
READ: House lawmaker calls on economic managers to take second look at Bayanihan 3
