House to ratify Bayanihan bill today

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the squabbling, the House of Representatives is expected to ratify today the final version of the bicameral conference committee-approved Bayanihan 2 bill that will provide President Duterte more powers to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are set to ratify the Bayanihan 2 bill. But this time, we made sure that certain provisions are set in place for a strict implementation of the law,” House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez gave assurance over the weekend.

“From Day One of the implementation of law, the House will closely monitor how government agencies disburse the budget allocated to them. Delays in disbursing funds to the needy are no longer acceptable,” the Leyte congressman said.

Once signed into law by Duterte, the measure will provide an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 to affected low income households in areas under granular lockdown and households with recently returned overseas Filipino workers.

The amount will be computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates.

“We have all learned our lessons in the implementation of Bayanihan 1 Act. We now have to ensure that the money goes where they matter the most. No duplication of beneficiaries, but no one left behind,” Romualdez pointed out.

Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte revealed the measure sets aside P3.5 billion to the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) for financial assistance to local government units to beef up their anti COVID-19 efforts.

At the same time, P1 billion each will also be given to government financial institutions like the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to subsidize interest payments on new and existing loans secured by LGUs from GFIs.

Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas hopes that more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will stay in business through the wide array of assistance provided them under the proposed Bayanihan 2 to Recover as One Act.

He said the measure’s provisions for the grant of low-interest loans to MSMEs and 30-day grace period for commercial loans will go a long way in helping entrepreneurs continue their businesses.

Vargas acknowledged that the P165.5-billion stimulus package is not enough to help the economy recover from the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he said the Bayanihan 2 bill’s passage is a timely intervention.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero raised his concern for teachers whose financial assistance should be increased from P300 million in the original appropriation, to P5 billion, considering the suffering they experienced since the start of the lockdown five months ago.

“If we distribute P300 million equally among 1.2 million teachers and non-teachers, each will receive a measly P250 in aid. If the money is shared by the affected 500,000 personnel in private schools, each of them will get P600. Clearly, we have to allocate a much bigger amount for the intended beneficiaries,” the 1Pacman congressman explained.

Under the Bayanihan 2 bill, the P300 million would be used for “subsidies and allowances” for teaching and non-teaching personnel in both public and private elementary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, including part-time faculty.

According to party-list group Alliance of Concerned Teachers, more than 400,000 private school teachers have not been receiving their salaries since March under the “no-work, no-pay” scheme because of the lockdown.