SENATE President Vicente Sotto III yesterday said the Senate is unlikely to pass the third stimulus package for low-income families adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since Congress has only until this week of work before it goes on a sine die adjournment on June 4.
In an interview with ANC, Sotto said the Senate has its “plate” full of pending measures to pass and there will be not enough time to go over the “glaring difference” between the House and Senate versions of the proposed Bayanihan 3.
“Bayanihan 3 for this last week might not be able to hurdle it before the Senate… We have barely four days and there are a lot on our plate,” Sotto said.
The House of Representatives passed on second reading last week House Bill 9411, or the proposed Bayanihan 3, which has a recommended funding of P401 billion.
Under the House version, Bayanihan 3 will have three phases, the first will be worth P165.9 billion which will be for “ayuda” or financial assistance (P108 billion), emergency assistance to affected households (12 billion), wage subsidies (P8 billion), assistance to displaced/disadvantaged workers (P10 billion), medical assistance programs (P3 billion), RT-PCR testing for seafarers and OFWs (P500 million), Pension and Gratuity Fund (P20 billion), support to basic education (P4 billion), and support to higher education P500 million).
Phase 2 of the stimulus package will be worth P186 billion to be used for ayuda (P108 billion), emergency assistance to affected households (P12 billion), wage subsidies (P8 billion), assistance to displaced or disadvantaged workers (P10 billion), national nutrition (P6 billion), assistance to agri-fishery sector (P15 billion), assistance to cooperatives (P1 billion), medical assistance to indigents (P3 billion), local government support fund (P3 billion), and Pension and Gratuity Fund (P20 billion).
The third phase will have funds of P48.6 billion to be used for emergency assistance to households (P6 billion), wage subsidies (P4 billion), assistance to displaced/disadvantaged workers (P5 billion), assistance to agri-fishery sector (P15 billion), assistance to cooperatives (P1 billion), medical assistance to indigents (P3 billion), and Pension and Gratuity Fund (P14.6 billion).
A similar measure was filed by Senate president pro tempore Ralph Recto but with a proposed funding of P485 billion.
Sotto said the House version included billions of pesos in pensions of retirees which he said was not approved by the senators. “We don’t feel that it should be included in the Bayanihan 3,” he said.
Sotto said the Senate is also not so keen on passing Bayanihan 3 since the programmed funds under Bayanihan 2 are “still partly intact.”
“The programmed funds, I understand, has only been 50 percent of the total allocation and out of the 50 percent that has been allocated, only 70 percent is used,” he said.
Bayanihan 2 was signed into law by President Duterte on September last year. Its validity was supposed to end in January but this was extended until June 30 to give government agencies ample time to obligate its funds. The measure has an allocation of P165.5 billion plus a standby fund of P25 billion.
Sotto said the Senate may be able to deliberate on Bayanihan 3 once it resumes sessions after the President’s last State of the Nation Address on July 26.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Malacañang does not see any urgency in passing the proposed Bayanihan 3 as the country still has enough funds to spend under the current 2021 budget and the Bayanihan 2.
Roque reiterated that Malacanang is thankful for the members of the House of Representatives for sponsoring the Bayanihan 3, which he described as a good “fallback” measure, but the consistent position of the President’s economic team has always been to first determine if the 2021 budget and remaining funds from Bayanihan 2 will already be enough.
Roque said the government also does not see a problem if Congress fails to pass the Bayanihan 3 before it adjourns this week. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
