This is according to House Minority Leader Benny Abante, Jr., who also said that with the passage of House Bill No. 6953, “the ball is now in the court of the Executive branch.”
“Nagtulungan kami ng Majority upang maipasa agad ang Bayanihan 2 dahil alam namin na matindi na ang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan,” said Abante, who cited the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and the 16.5% dip in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“We do not have a lot of money to begin with.”
“Now that the funds are there, it is incumbent upon the government to make full use of these financial resources.”
Abante appealed to the administration for “PPE” in the use of the P162 billion Congress had allocated for the measure.
“Tulad ng mga health workers, kailangan din ng gobyerno ng PPE––Proper Planning and Execution. Let’s have a proper plan for our COVID-19 response, wag yung bara-bara,” cautioned the solon.
“We do not have a lot of money to begin with, and this pandemic is not a problem we can simply throw money at,” the lawmaker stressed.
Abante said that the government’s unveiling of a National Action Plan (NAP) to battle COVID-19 was a step in the right direction, but added that “the soundness of this plan will be determined by the results of its execution.”
“A plan is only as good as its execution. Dito sa Bayanihan 2 may pondo tayo para sa iba’t ibang programa. Isa dito ang SAP (Social Amelioration Program); how do we make sure the SAP gets to its beneficiaries? Another is contact tracing. How does the Executive plan to utilize the funds to ensure we track down all potential carriers of the virus? These are questions the government must address to maximize the Bayanihan 2 funds.”
The legislator said that in light of reports of misused COVID-19 funds on the ground, the Executive “must step up efforts to crack down on corruption and make sure that these funds are used for their intended purposes.”
“The soundness of this plan will be determined by the results of its execution.”
Amounting to a total of P162 billion, Bayanihan 2 includes funds for the following, among others:
• Subsidies for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to fund the expanded COVID-19 testing
• Hiring additional healthcare workers, their risk allowances, life insurance, compensation, and compensation for death and critical illness
• PPEs for health care workers and additional quarantine facilities
• A one-month emergency subsidy to qualified low-income households who were not able to avail themselves of the first tranche of cash aid granted to 18 million families.
• Tuition subsidies and loans, subsidies, discounts, and grants for the purchase of electronic gadgets as schools shift to distance learning
• Cash for work programs and assistance for displaced workers
• Repatriation of displaced overseas Filipino workers
The bulk of the funds for Bayanihan 2 will be sourced from the unprogrammed funds and savings under the government’s P4.1 trillion-budget for 2020. This will be augmented by savings pooled from the previous Bayanihan law, as well as all funds and investments held by any government-owned or -controlled corporation or national government agency.