THE House of Representatives yesterday opened plenary deliberations on the proposed third version of the Bayanihan law after the measure was approved by four different committees.
Reps. Sharon Garin (PL, AAAMBIS-OWA), chair of the House committee on economic affairs, and Joey Salceda (PDP-Laban, Albay) were among those who sponsored the measure on the floor. The bill is expected to be approved in the plenary before Congress adjourns sine die on June 4.
Earlier in the day, the House committees on economic affairs and on social services approved the Bayanihan 3 substitute bill.
Garin’s economic affairs panel and the committee on social services of Rep. Alfred Vargas (PDP-Laban, Quezon City) had to approve the measure for the second time after amendments were introduced by the committees on ways and means and on appropriations on the original measure filed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
The substitute bill now includes an amendment on the provision on sources of funding for the proposed two rounds of cash assistance worth P1,000 for every beneficiary, or a total of 108 billion Filipinos.
There is also a one-time cash subsidy program worth P5,000 to P10,000 under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to pandemic-stricken households.
Section 29 of the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise as One Act” provides that funds for its programs, activities, and projects “shall be sourced primarily from the unprogrammed funds and savings realized from modified, realigned or reprogrammed allocations for operational expense of any government agency or instrumentality under the Executive department, including, but not limited to, traveling expenses, supplies and materials expenses, professional services, general services, advertising expenses, printing and publication expenses, and other maintenance and operating expenses in the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA).”
“To fast-track economic recovery and pump prime the economy, implementation of ready programs, activities, and projects, including programs, activities, and projects that have not yet undergone the procurement process, whether for comprehensive release or for later release, shall not be discontinued and appropriations for such programs, activities, and projects shall be immediately released,” it said.
The bill, which is co-authored by 290 lawmakers, said “programs, activities, and projects that have the highest multiplier effect and that promote countryside development, including infrastructure projects, shall be prioritized in the release of appropriation.”
To fund the measure, the government is looking at the proposal to temporarily increase mandatory dividend remittance of government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) from 50 percent to 75 percent to fund Bayanihan 3. However, this proposal, which would be worth P70 billion, would require an amendment of RA 7656 or the Dividends Law.
Velasco said he filed the measure along with Rep. Stella Quimbo (LP, Marikina) because “the (COVID-19) pandemic has battered the livelihood of our fellow Filipinos, especially the poorest of the poor who are living on a daily wage basis.”
“It has cast a looming shadow on the economy, and it has disrupted the social spectrum of the Filipino nation. That is why, we are here today to approve the substitute bill and the committee report of the proposed Bayanihan 3 law, an emergency lifeline measure that will address the vulnerabilities of our country by providing lifesaving socio-economic assistance to the hardest hit sectors of our nation,” Velasco said.