As if doing something…

With the Middle East (ME) conflict expanding a month since it erupted, we are seeing Philippine government officials scrambling all over the place to find immediate relief to the problems spawned by it. If we are to believe official pronouncements as against actions taken so far, the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) seems to be on top of the situation to avert potential crisis situations arising from the ME conflict.

The most convenient and typical solution of the government is to throw money at the problem, or problems.  

Clear signals have lately been coming out from leaders of the 20th Congress to authorize government funding to mitigate the impact of the ME conflict to the Philippine economy. Offhand, lawmakers estimate about P400 billion in supplemental budget might be needed this year to keep our country’s economy afloat. 

 If the ME conflict escalates further and Iran completely chokes the world crude oil supply at the Strait of Hormuz, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian warned massive legislative intervention will be the only way to help government stave off its full impact to oil-dependent countries like the Philippines.

As the chairman of the newly constituted Senate committee dubbed as Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT), Gatchalian announced they have already started running internal simulations to estimate the cost of widespread government interventions, ranging from targeted transport subsidies to direct cash aid for minimum wage earners.

Gatchalian revealed financial projections calculated by the Senate PROTECT committee show the Philippine government may need to pass a staggering P400-billion supplemental budget. Thus, they in Congress would be forced to trigger a third iteration of the past two “Bayanihan” laws to fund this crisis-driven legislation, Gatchalian conceded.

Obviously, both Malacañang and Congress procrastinated in providing more than enough contingency funds out of the P6.793-trillion budget this year to cover for any unexpected crisis event.

Yes, nobody predicted a full-blown ME conflict will take place early this year. Precisely, every budget proposal includes planning for unexpected contingency or emergency to ensure funding support somewhere in the fiscal space of the government. 

Unfortunately, the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was approved at a time of mutual suspicions between Malacañang and Congress in the aftermath of the alleged “ghost” flood control projects fully paid for but were never done. Everyone was eagle-eyed on the hocus-pocus done before on unprogrammed appropriations, suspected misuse of confidential and intelligence funds on top of congressional “insertions” that get into the budget process’ approval at the legislative mills.    

Setting aside all of these, our lawmakers are now looking at two “Bayanihan” laws that were enacted at the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic crisis. So far though, there is no official word yet if PBBM is willing to heed this proposed “Bayanihan-3” initiative of Congress. After all, PBBM already created his own UPLIFT committee, or Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport in response to the ME conflict.

The Bayanihan-1, or Republic Act (RA) 11469, and Bayanihan-2 (RA 11494) were legislative acts approved into law in 2020 by former president Rodrigo Duterte to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bayanihan-1 approved on March 24, 2020 focused on immediate health response and emergency subsidies for 18 million households. Dubbed as “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act,” it gave ex-president Duterte “special powers” to address the immediate crisis amid global lockdown during the COVID-19 period.

The subsequent Bayanihan-2 approved on Sept. 11, 2020 focused on economic recovery, health system strengthening and providing further assistance to affected sectors. Called the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act,” it aimed to bolster the economy and health system as lockdowns eased gradually, including those all over the Philippines.

Bayanihan-1 was about immediate survival and speedy delivery of government relief such as state subsidies ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 monthly for two months to 18 million low-income households. It authorized the re-alignment of the 2020 national budget toward pandemic responses of the government and assistance to seriously affected economic sectors. It also covered treatment costs for COVID-19 patients and facilitated fast testing. 

Bayanihan-2 was about recovery and sustainability and focused on long-term initiatives like contact tracing and vaccine procurement. It focused on economic recovery, job retention and capacity building. It likewise provided aid for transportation, education (laptops/internet for teachers) and for businesses struggling to reopen.

As of June 2021, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that P387.93 billion was released for Bayanihan-1 and P214.12 billion for Bayanihan-2. Unused funds for Bayanihan-2 expired on June 30, 2021, per DBM records.

Before sessions adjourned for the Lenten recess last week, the House of Representatives started crafting a proposed “Bayanihan-3” measure in response to the ongoing oil price crisis. But unlike its pandemic-era predecessors, the new package will go beyond direct cash aid and also focus on long-term structural reforms, Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo announced last week. Quimbo chairs the House committee on ways and means where legislative tax and other money measures must emanate. 

According to Quimbo, this legislative initiative was upon the direction of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III to help the Marcos administration address the economic impact of the ME conflict, the most severe of which were the historic increases in the pump prices of gasoline, diesel and other refined petroleum products. Incidentally, Quimbo is among the newly sworn in members of PBBM’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).

At the same time, Speaker Dy also constituted 13 House committees which he tasked to invite economic managers and the respective heads of various frontline government agencies to draw out information to support specific legislation needed to enable Filipinos to cope with the impact of the ME conflict. The newly created super House committee will conduct its first public hearing this Wednesday even while Congress is having its month-long recess. 

All of these activities were apparently meant to assuage public fears and concerns over the ME conflict. But these are nothing but the AIDS – “as if doing something” – syndrome.