ADMINISTRATION lawmakers want the House committee on public accounts to investigate why almost 30 percent of the more than P165 billion funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) has been not been disbursed until now, a year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
House Resolution (HR) No. 1558, or “A resolution urging the committee on public accounts to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the release and utilization of appropriations authorized under Republic Act No. 11494, otherwise known as the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Act),” was filed by 37 congressmen, including five deputy speakers.
The lawmakers want budget and financial officials to explain why the government has only spent 73 percent of the P165 billion funds, of which P25.5 billion can be spent for vaccines and used as financial assistance for businesses.
“The delays in releases forego the opportunity to rescue the economy and correlate with actual economic losses as evidenced by the dramatic decline in lending amid the delays in infusing capital to government financial institutions,” the measure said.
The deputy speakers are Reps. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City, Kristine Singson Meehan and Deogracias Savellano of Ilocos Sur, Ferdinand Hernandez of South Cotabato, and Conrado Estrella III of Abono party-list.
The other authors of HR 1558 are Reps. Sharon Garin (AAMBIS-OWA party-list), Joey Salceda (Albay), Rosanna Vergara (Nueva Ecija), Christopher de Venecia (Pangasinan), Julienne Baronda (Iloilo City), Horacio Suansing Jr. (Sultan Kudarat), Estrellita Suansing (Nueva Ecija), Stella Quimbo (Marikina City), Antonio Albano (Isabela), Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo (Lanao del Norte), Victor Yap (Tarlac), Amihilda Sangcopan (Anak Mindanao party-list), Edgar Mary Sarmiento (Samar), Alfredo Garbin Jr. (Ako Bicol), Francisco Benitez (Negros Occidental), Jose Gay Padiernos (GP party-list), Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte), Raneo Abu (Batangas), Angelica Natasha Co (BHW party-list), Edward Maceda (Manila), Ronnie Ong (Ang Probinsyano party-list), Claudine Bautista(Dumper PTDA party-list), Michael Gorriceta (Iloilo), John Rey Tiangco (Navotas City), Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo), Jesus Suntay (Quezon City), Braeden John Biron (Iloilo), Sol Aragones (Laguna), Cristal Bagatsing (Manila), Erico Aumentado (Bohol), Cheryl Deloso Montalla (Zambales) and Romeo Momo (CWS party-list).
The resolution pointed out that it was the economic team that convinced Congress to fund equity infusion to Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) over other forms of relief “on promises that this assistance could be leveraged at least five times and that credit growth, which has not materialized, is more cost-efficient as economic stimulus.”
It said Congress granted the economic team’s request “on the assumption that the government will act with dispatch in making such infusion available urgently to businesses in need.”
“Our constituents have also complained to us about the slow implementation of other forms of direct relief under Bayanihan 2,” the resolution said.
The lawmakers said the country’s gross domestic product decline of 9.5 percent last year is a cause for concern since it is the “worst post-war economic performance.”
With the slow government relief, they said the country “foregoes the opportunity to provide more secure employment” to the 420,000 workers that the Department of Labor and Employment says lost their employment in 2020 and the 4.5 million other working Filipinos who are in danger of losing their jobs.”
“The economy cannot afford slow implementation of government relief programs that have already been approved and authorized, especially as the World Bank and other international institutions warn that the country will recover more slowly than its peers in the East Asia and Pacific region,” the resolution said.
BAYANIHAN 3
In a related development, 162 congressmen have so far thrown their support behind Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s House Bill No. 8628 or the proposed Bayanihan 3 Act which seeks a P420-billion fund to stimulate the country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the latest version of the Bayanihan 3 “provides for comprehensive and integrated strategy to help the economy recover faster from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.”
“The measure proposes a P420-billion fund for the implementation of much-needed COVID-19 response and recovery interventions grounded on economic inclusivity and collective growth,” Herrera pointed out.
HB 8628 seeks to allocate P108 billion for additional social amelioration to impacted households, P100 billion for capacity-building for impacted sectors, P52 billion for wage subsidies, P70 billion for capacity-building for agricultural producers, P30 billion for internet allowances to teachers and students, P30 billion for assistance to displaced workers, P25 billion for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines, and P5 billion for the rehabilitation of areas affected by recent floods and typhoons.
GUIDE
Also yesterday, the House approved on third and final reading House Bill 7749 or the proposed “Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE).”
The measure seeks to provide financial assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. When enacted into law, it would allow for the expansion of the loan assistance programs, rediscounting, and other credit accommodation facilities offered by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Small Business Corporation (SBC) and the Agriculture Credit Policy Council (ACPC).
The measure, which is expected to help speed up economic recovery, was meant to complement the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).
Stipulated in the GUIDE bill are the targeted sectors and intended beneficiaries, which would include for LBP, players in the agricultural supply chain; and for DBP, eligible MSMEs engaged in infrastructure, the service industry, and manufacturing businesses.
Additionally, the LBP and the DBP would be mandated to create a special holding company, to be known as the Accelerate Recovery to Intensify Solidarity and Equity (ARISE), to reinvigorate strategically important industries experiencing liquidity issues due to the health crisis.
