SPEAKER Lord Allan Jay Velasco yesterday guaranteed the plenary approval of the proposed P405.6 billion-worth Bayanihan 3 law once the House of Representatives resumes session on May 17.
“As soon as we get back on May 17, we will fast-track the approval of Bayanihan 3,” Velasco said in an interview with radio dzME, adding that the House has to expedite the approval of the third relief package to aid struggling Filipinos and revive the country’s pandemic-ravaged economy.
Velasco made the statement after three House committees approved a substitute version of the numerous Bayanihan 3 measures filed by lawmakers, including House Bill No. 8628 or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise As One Act” which Velasco and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo co-authored.
The committee on ways and means chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda adopted the measure last Monday after it was approved by the committees on economic affairs and social services last Friday.
The consolidated Bayanihan 3 bill is entitled “An Act Providing for Additional Mechanisms to Bolster the Resiliency of the Philippine Economy and Providing Funds Therefore” or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise as One” Act.
The bill only needs the approval of the House committee on appropriations before it can be reported to the plenary for approval on second and third readings.
“Everyone should be given assistance during the pandemic,” Velasco said. “It has to be equitable. We can’t give the same amount to a household of three and another one with 15 members.”
The 405.6 billion fund includes two rounds of cash assistance worth P1,000 for every beneficiary, or a total of 108 billion Filipinos, regardless of their economic status.
Velasco said the House is closely working with the Department of Finance (DOF) in identifying funding sources for the measure.
To raise funds for Bayanihan 3, Congress seeks to authorize the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to make additional advances with or without interest to the national government to finance expenditures authorized by law to address and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also wants to increase from 50 percent to 75 percent the mandatory dividend remittances by government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and to grant the President the power to withdraw capital from overcapitalized GOCCs.
Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, chair of the social services panel, cited several provisions in the consolidated bill which he said addresses the needs of affected sectors, particularly workers who have lost their jobs, and vulnerable sectors in need of government aid.
The consolidated bill provides several types of assistance, among them, direct emergency and social amelioration of P1,000 for all Filipinos for the first month, and another P1,000 within three months.
The bill also provides livelihood assistance through an additional P12 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, P8 billion in wage subsidies under the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program of the Department of Finance (DOF), P10 billion in assistance for displaced workers through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The bill also suspends the collection of amortization payments for those living in government housing programs, and imposes a “no eviction or demolition policy” until the State of Public Health Emergency declared by the national government is lifted.
Vargas added that the bill offers an array of assistance to ensure food security and provide for the health needs of citizens, including the allocation of P3 billion for the Medical Assistance for Indigents Program (MAIP) of the Department of Health (DOH), free swab tests for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and allowing the use of private sector facilities for public health needs during the pandemic.
The bill also allocates P54.6 billion for the Pension and Gratuity Fund of Military Uniformed Personnel, and P5.6 billion for the information technology needs of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the government has so far distributed 74.35 percent or more than P17 billion of the P22.9 billion one-time cash aid for individuals affected by the enhanced community quarantine imposed from March 29 to April 11 in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
Año said 17,037,122 beneficiaries out of the total of 22,915,422 beneficiaries from the NCR plus bubble have already received the cash aid as of May 3.
He said the biggest amount went to Metro Manila with P8.63 billion that benefitted 8.632 million or 772.26 percent of the beneficiaries, followed by Laguna with P2.3 billion that benefitted 2.307 million or 84.91 percent of the beneficiaries, and Cavite with P2.188 billion that benefitted 2.188 million or 63.53 percent of beneficiaries.
Bulacan has already distributed P2.168 billion that benefitted 2.168 million or 73.08 percent of the beneficiaries, while Rizal has distributed P1.7 billion that benefitted 1.74 million or 66.61 percent of the beneficiaries.
Año said the distribution of cash aid will continue until May 15. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
