The economic team of the Duterte administration rolled out a P27.1-billion package of priority actions to help frontliners fight the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and provide economic relief to people and sectors affected by the slowdown in economic activity.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who chairs the Duterte Cabinet’s Economic Development Cluster, said the measures in the package were designed to ensure that funding is available for the efforts of the Department of Health to contain the spread of COVID-19 and provide economic relief to those whose businesses and livelihoods were affected by the spread of the disease.
“As directed by President Duterte, the government will provide targeted and direct programs to guarantee that benefits will go to our workers and other affected sectors. We have enough but limited resources, so our job is to make sure that we have sufficient funds for programs mitigating the adverse effects of COVID-19 on our economy,” he said.
The fiscal support package crafted by President Duterte’s economic team includes the mobilization of an additional P3.1 billion to contribute directly to efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, including the acquisition of test kits.
The funds came from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Asian Development Bank.
About P2 billion represents the initial budget set aside by the Department of Labor and Employment for social protection programs for vulnerable workers, to be used for wage subsidy/financial support to COVID-affected establishments and workers.
The Social Security System mobilized P1.2 billion to cover unemployment benefits for dislocated workers. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s scholarship programs amounting to P3 billion will support affected and temporarily displaced workers through upskilling and reskilling.
TESDA is also offering free courses for all who would like to acquire new skills in the convenience of their own homes, mobile phones and computers through the TESDA Online Program;
Various programs and projects of the Department of Tourism amounting to P14 billion from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority will support the tourism industry.
About P2.8 billion was allocated for the Survival and Recovery Aid Program of the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Credit Policy Council which provides loans of up to P25,000 each at zero interest for smallholder farmers and fisherfolk affected by calamity and disasters. The initiative includes a one-year moratorium without interest on payments of outstanding loan obligations of small farmers and fisherfolk borrowers under the ACPC Credit Program amounting to P2.03 billion.
The Department of Trade and Industry alloted P1 billion for its Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) Microfinancing special loan package of the Small Business Corp. for affected micro entrepreneurs/micro, small and medium enterprises.
Also included is the DTI’s ongoing assistance in finding new supply sources and non-traditional markets for industries affected by supply chain disruptions and the conduct of trade and investment missions to support the continued operation of industry.
Additional support mechanisms identified by the Economic Development Cluster include a loan program of the Government Service Insurance System intended for affected government employees and retirees; mobilization of funds from government-owned or -controlled corporations to assist airlines and the rest of the tourism industry; and programs of the largest government banks to help address the impact of the health emergency, such as the Development Bank of the Philippines’ Rehabilitation Support Program on Severe Events.
The Land Bank of the Philippines offered restructured loan amortizations by giving longer tenor and grace periods, with the option of a fixed interest rate under its Calamity Rehabilitation Support.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral approved the grant of temporary and rediscounting relief measures for financial institutions.