Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo. (File photo)
MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent the PHP420-billion Bayanihan 3 bill to boost the country’s Covid-19 economic recovery.
In a news forum, Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said House Bill 8628 or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise As One Act” would be the third installment of the government’s response to the pandemic and its devastating impact on the economy.
“If there is one indisputable thing, that is the economy has turned out worse than what we had all expected and even the President agrees with this. Kaya ang panawagan namin sa Executive ay pagtulungan natin ito para makabangon ang ating mga kababayan (That’s why we are calling on the Executive to help Filipinos rise from this),” Quimbo said.
Quimbo, author of the bill along with Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, said the government needs to infuse a substantial amount into the economy to prevent a so-called “stagflation” or a combination of stagnant economy and high inflation.
She noted that the Philippines spent too little against its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 as compared to other Asian countries.
“One of the main drivers of the decline is the decrease of 7.9 percent in household consumption. Meanwhile, government spending only contributed 1.3 percent to GDP growth last year,” she said.
Under the bill, a PHP420-billion fund shall be allocated for the implementation of Covid-19 response, as well as recovery interventions grounded on economic inclusivity and collective growth.
It proposes to allocate PHP108 billion for additional social amelioration to impacted households, PHP100 billion for capacity-building for impacted sectors, PHP52 billion for wage subsidies, PHP70 billion for capacity-building for agricultural producers, PHP30 billion for internet allowances to students and teachers, PHP30 billion for assistance to displaced workers, PHP25 billion for Covid-19 treatment and vaccines, and PHP5 billion for the rehabilitation of areas impacted by recent floods and typhoons.
She said that the country’s current sources of funding, particularly the Bayanihan 2 law’s appropriation of PHP165 billion and the 2021 national budget's PHP250 billion in coronavirus response items are “clearly insufficient to make up for our economic losses in 2020, which are estimated to be at PHP3.2 trillion.”
She said that the government should have no problem allocating PHP420 billion, claiming that the country has a PHP1.6 trillion cash balance as of November 2020. (PNA)
