With the Philippine economy still in recession and no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco is proposing a P420-billion fund to further help stimulate the country’s economic recovery.
Velasco, together with Marikina City 2nd District Rep.
Stella Luz Quimbo, filed last Thursday House Bill (HB) No. 8628 or the proposed
“Bayanihan to Arise As One Act,” also known as Bayanihan 3.
So far, 115 members of major political parties and power
blocs comprising the supermajority in the House of Representatives have
expressed their support and signified their intent to co-author HB 8628.
While the two previous Bayanihan laws—Bayanihan to Heal As
One and Bayanihan to Recover As One—increased the government’s initial capacity
to respond to the demands of the COVID-19 crisis, Velasco said these were “not
sufficient for the genuine economic recovery of the country.”
Citing recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority,
the Marinduque lawmaker noted that the Philippine economy contracted by 9.5
percent overall in 2020, the worst performance in the nation’s post-war
history.
This contraction, he said, is significantly deeper than the
predicted contraction of 4.5 to 6.6 percent, which became the basis of the
Development Budget Coordination Committee or DBCC for the 2021 National
Expenditure Program.
“Given that actual economic output in 2020 was far below
what was assumed for budget purposes, and further losses may still be incurred
as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to prevail well into the current fiscal
year, an additional economic stimulus package is needed to help the government
meet its recovery targets for the year,” Velasco pointed out.
The breakdown of the proposed P420-billion appropriation
under Bayanihan 3 is as follows:
• P52 billion for subsidies to small business for wages and
other worker-related expenses;
• P100 billion for the capacity-building of businesses in
critically impacted sectors;
• P108 billion for additional social amelioration to
impacted households through programs of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development;
• P70 billion for the provision of assistance and
capacity-building to farmers, livestock producers and fishermen;
• P30 billion for the implementation of unemployment
assistance and cash-for-work programs under the Department of Labor and
Employment;
• P30 billion for internet allowances to primary, secondary
and tertiary students and teachers in public and private educational
institutions;
• P5 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways
for the rehabilitation of typhoon-affected areas, including the repair,
reconstruction and/or construction of flood control works, roads, bridges,
public buildings and other damaged public works, to be distributed
proportionately among provinces and cities affected;
• P25 billion to the Department of Health for the
procurement of COVID-19 medication and vaccines, and to finance logistics,
information awareness campaigns, and other related operational expenses.
Velasco lamented that “uncertainty is the primary effect
this pandemic has on every aspect of our lives.”
Faced with continued risk and uncertainty, Velasco said
household consumption has significantly declined, contributing as much as 5.7
percent to the total 9.5 percent annual reduction in output in 2020.
“Government must therefore take the lead to promote business
and consumer confidence and social welfare. Increased, well-targeted spending
is a vital step to achieving these goals,” Velasco stressed. - House of Representatives of the Philippines
