NDC seen as vehicle to bail out companies

The Trade Department said it supports the proposal to harness National Development Corp. as the vehicle for the government’s bailout scheme for companies heavily impacted by the COVID crisis.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the NDC had the potential to save companies from collapse, especially in the aviation and tourism sectors and other industries reeling from the effects of a bad economy amid the public health crisis.

“The NDC has broad powers. It can float bonds or increase capitalization to invest in industries critical to the bringing back the health of the economy,” Rodolfo said.

The bail-out scheme, as proposed under the Bayanihan 2 bill, seeks to provide relief to distressed sectors and industries by way of loans and other means of financial support. 

Bayanihan 2 is the supplement bill to Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. The bill proposed a P162-billion relief standby fund to bail out companies.