Palace: 3-month Bayanihan Act extension 'ideal', until December if necessary
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday expressed support for a three-month extension of the Bayanihan Act, which provided President Rodrigo Duterte additional powers to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bayanihan Act was intended to boost the government's fight against the pandemic, which has so far infected more than 14,000 people in the Philippines. The law, which will expire on June 24, permits the president to realign budget items to support coronavirus response efforts, fast-track and streamline the accreditation of testing kits, and exempts him from the procurement law to fast-track the purchase of needed medical supplies.
The law also allows the government to liberalize the grant of incentives for the manufacture or importation of needed supplies or equipment and authorizes the president to "direct" the operation of private hospitals medical and health facilities, and passenger vessels and turn them into accommodation for health workers, quarantine areas, or aid distribution centers.
"I think the three-month period is ideal," presidential spokesman Harry Roque told ABS-CBN News Channel.
"It's not a preference but I think it definitely is necessary to give us at least 90 days and we’ll see from there if at the end of 90 days, there’s a need for emergency powers still, then it can be extended until December," he added.
Roque said the 90-day extension is not too far away from the suggestion of acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua that the law be extended until the end of the year.
"We're already in June...so July, August, September...and you have another three months until December... But the important thing is, if Congress gives us three months, 90 days, they will still be in session when the emergency power ceases because they are still in session in September and they can give the emergency powers anew if they wish to and if Malacañang would request," the Palace spokesman said.
Asked what specific provisions of the law should be extended, Roque said the Palace wants to amend its sunset clause so the emergency powers conferred on the president would be extended.
Roque said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had joked about extending Bayanihan Act until 2022 but admitted that it may be "unreasonable."
"The reason is we don’t know when the vaccine will be developed. We don’t know when the cure will be developed ‘no. But I think...that’s why he (Dominguez) said it in jest, he was laughing so I’m clarifying that I’m also laughing because of course, extraordinary power is something that is reserved for extraordinary circumstances," Roque said.
"But the problem here with COVID is, without the vaccine, we’ll never go back to normal and it’s still extraordinary. But I think given the scheme of separation of powers, I think it will be unreasonable really to expect until 2022," he added.
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