MANILA, Philippines — The bicameral conference committee of the Senate and House of Representatives has agreed to increase funding for the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 Law to P166.5 billion amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the panel from the Senate agreed to the amount set in the House version of the bill and even agreed to add more funds to the measure, according to a member of the bicam from the lower chamber.
The amount is P4.5 billion higher than the proposed P162 billion of the House, and P26.5 billion higher than the P140-billion proposal of the Senate.
The insider bared that the bulk of increases in the proposed stimulus package would be allocated to the Department of Health (DOH) for hiring emergency personnel and to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its cash-for-work program.
Also increased were funds for the agricultural sector, capital infusion in government banks and credit assistance to local government units.
The source, however, explained that only the P140 billion as proposed by the Senate would be funded immediately while the remaining P26.5 billion would be part of a “standby fund.”
Under the House version of the bill, Bayanihan 2 will provide P10 billion for expanded testing, P10 billion for additional Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage, P10.5 billion for hiring of more healthcare workers and P4 billion for the construction of quarantine and isolation facilities.
Also, P20 billion will be allotted for the implementation of cash-for-work program and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), P51 billion for infusion of capital to government financial institutions, P20 billion support to the agriculture sector and P10 billion for programs for transport sector.
Tourism subsidy
The bill also seeks to allot P10 billion subsidy to finance Department of Tourism (DOT) programs to assist impacted businesses in the tourism industry. But the House version transferred this fund to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
The bicam panel has decided to shelve or set aside this TIEZA funding after hours of debate, according to the insider.
As this developed, more lawmakers called on the panel to return the P10-billion TIEZA fund to the DOT to be used as stimulus program for affected businesses and workers in the tourism industry.
Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman both assailed the proposed funding for TIEZA, calling it callous and even a “pork barrel.”
“Infrastructure is the new word for pork barrel. It’s very callous of a group of some congressmen to remove the fund meant to help businesses and provide employment,” Atienza said.
He also slammed proponents led by Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte for defending the transfer of the fund to TIEZA, saying it was completely unacceptable and a wrong move on the part of Congress.
“Bayanihan 2 is supposed to be a stimulus program that will help businesses and affected workers, including those in tourism industry. This (transfer to TIEZA) will just exacerbate the situation and lead to more unemployment in the country,” Atienza argued.
Lagman agreed with this opinion and urged the bicam panel to restore the DOT funding.
“While infrastructure is important, what the tourism industry needs is ready access to soft and concessional loans to reopen and operate the pandemic-devastated sector. The bicam must restore the 10 billion for loans to the tourism sector in the meager Bayanihan 2. Infra projects can be appropriated in the 2021 national budget,” he pointed out.
Sen. Grace Poe would insist on providing cash assistance for displaced workers and employers in the tourism sector in the proposed Bayanihan 2.
The bicameral conference committee has been holding meetings since last week on the bill, dubbed “Bayanihan 2,” which seeks to fund another set of emergency assistance to sectors badly-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The panel, which met again yesterday, is reconciling conflicting provisions of the versions of the bill passed by both chambers, Poe told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon last week cited some programs that Bayanihan 2 aimed to provide for the most vulnerable sectors.
These include the proposed P15,000 cash assistance for healthcare workers who would contract mild to moderate COVID-19, P100,000 to nurses and doctors who would contract a severe case of COVID-19, and P1 million to the families of healthcare workers who die of the disease; as well as P5,000 to P8,000 cash subsidy to low-income earners; provision of cash assistance to teachers from private schools and tertiary education institutions and part-time faculty in state universities and colleges and cash-for-work for displaced workers.
More tourism associations are joining the call for allocating the tourism sector’s P10-billion fund under the Bayanihan 2 bill for the financial assistance of industry stakeholders struggling to survive from the impact of the pandemic.
52 associations
As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 52 tourism associations have expressed their support to the industry’s call for a rescue package.
“The Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), along with over 50 national and regional associations representing various tourism sectors, are earnestly calling on the government and our lawmakers to provide the rescue package that the Senate version of the Bayanihan 2 bill has provided – a P10 billion credit facility that would allow us, the micro and small players of the industry, to quickly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” tourism industry groups said in a joint statement.
“While we acknowledge the long-term wisdom of the House version of allocating the amount to infrastructure projects under the (TIEZA) to help the industry recovery, we believe that the priority in this critical period is an emergency rescue package for tourism businesses like ours,” the tourism associations said.
They emphasized that 70 percent of the industry is made up of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have been severely affected by the pandemic.
As senators and congressmen deliberate on the final version of Bayanihan 2, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he also proposed to include a 90-day or three months “grace period” for repayment of loans to financial institutions.
The bicameral conference committee is considering a loan payment moratorium of two months. A grace period will be a big relief for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises reeling from the pandemic.
Deputy Speaker Rep. Mikee Romero of the 1Pacman party-list group, raised his concern for teachers whose financial assistance should be increased from P300 million in the original appropriation to P5 billion, considering the suffering they experienced since the start of the lockdown five months ago.
Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, chairperson of the House committee on disaster management, lauded Congress’ move to approve the Bayanihan 2 bill that will help tide Filipinos over the health crisis. — Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Catherine Talavera