FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Tuesday told lawmakers the government has raised to P1.49 trillion the budget for its response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“This is right now close to $30 billion which is already 8 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) last year,” Dominguez told a teleconference with the economic stimulus package subcommittee of the House Defeat COVID-19 committee chaired by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
The total amount includes those being spent for programs such as the Special Amelioration Program (SAP) for 18 million poor families worth P200 billion, the wage subsidy program for employees of small businesses amounting to P51 billion, and the credit guarantee for small businesses which is worth P120 billion.
In an interview with reporters, Dominguez also distanced himself from the proposal of ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap who wants the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to allow Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO to resume operations to help the government raise revenues to fund its anti-COVID-19 measures.
“I think the question should be addressed to Congressman Yap. He brought this up. Once he brings this up, we have to take it up. This has been briefly discussed with the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases),” Dominguez said.
Yap has said the suspension of POGO operations should be lifted immediately “to give our tax collection a much-needed boost.”
“We need all the help that we can get right now,” said the chair of the committee on appropriations who is also vice chair of the committee on games. “The foreign workers are here anyway so why not allow them to operate?”
Yap said work from home arrangements should be explored or at least require some workers to stay in their workplaces if they want to be allowed to operate.
PAGCOR said that the suspension was implemented to ensure safety of all employees and to prevent further spread of the virus by limiting workers’ movements.
“We have to be more creative, let’s think out of the box. PAGCOR should come up with guidelines stipulating do’s and don’ts. It has to be clear that work from home should be allowed only if its accredited by PAGCOR,” Yap said.