Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo (File photo)
MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives is seeking additional funding to strengthen the government's efforts and response to the ongoing public health crisis complicated by three successive typhoons that battered most parts of Luzon.
Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo filed on Tuesday House Bill 8031, or the Bayanihan to Arise as One Act (Bayanihan 3), which proposes some PHP400 billion in spending package to ensure help is available under the state’s social amelioration program, rehabilitate areas damaged by natural calamities, sustain delivery of basic goods and services, implement high-impact infrastructure projects, assist businesses to keep them afloat, and bring the economy on the right track.
Quimbo said the bill requires the National Economic and Development Authority to craft a long-term plan that would help the country become resilient from future shocks, such as pandemics and typhoons.
It also mandates the agency to review the Flood Management Master Plan for Metro Manila and surrounding areas to improve disaster risk reduction and resilience.
She said the recent typhoons have compounded the impact of the pandemic.
“Malaki po ang itutulong ng Bayanihan 3 sa pagbangon ng bansa – dagdag at mas matibay na mga programang may halagang 400 billion pesos. Rescue boat ito sa Pilipinong binabaha ng krisis. (Bayanihan 3 can help the country rise again through additional and better programs worth PHP400 billion. This would serve as a rescue boat for Filipinos swamped by the crisis),” Quimbo said.
She noted that the money allotted to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) under the 2021 spending plan is minuscule, representing only PHP248 billion out of the total PHP838.4 billion earmarked for the pandemic response that also included some PHP590 billion for infrastructure under the government’s centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” program.
“Napakaliit nito kumpara sa laki ng nawawala sa atin. Tila nagbibigay lang tayo ng paracetamol para magpagaling ng cancer. Hindi makakabangon ang Pilipinas mula sa bagyo at pandemya kung ganito kaliit ang pondo natin laban sa sakuna (This is much smaller than what we’ve lost. It seems that we’re just handing out paracetamol to cure cancer. The Philippines won’t be able to rise from the typhoons and pandemic if the budget we have to fight these disasters is small),” Quimbo said.
For the country to fully rise from the Covid-19 crisis, she said Bayanihan 3 ensures adequate funding for vaccine procurement and a steady stream of “ayuda” (cash aid) to low-income families.
Quimbo’s proposal also aims to provide calamity intervention measures, such as cash-for-work, emergency subsidies, and adequate infrastructure funds for typhoon-stricken areas.
She highlighted that worker subsidies are provided in the bill, which shall cover pay for testing and sick leaves, among others, as well as capacity-building programs for critically impacted businesses to assist them in adapting to the new normal.
Apart from the enumerated interventions, the Bayanihan 3 seeks to extend the effectivity of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) as its provisions remain to be critical for recovery beyond December 2020.
Malacañang on Tuesday said Bayanihan 3 is still “premature” as the government is still assessing whether the proposed 2021 national budget would be sufficient.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, however, said a Bayanihan 3 could be proposed if the 2021 budget would be deemed insufficient. (PNA)
