“With the Philippine economy still in recession and no end in sight for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,” Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has proposed a P420 billion fund to help stimulate the country’s economic recovery.
Velasco, along with Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, recently filed House Bill No. 8628 or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise as One Act” or the Bayanihan 3.
At least 115 members of major political parties and power blocs comprising the supermajority in the House of Representatives expressed their support and signified their intent to co-author HB 8628.
While the two previous Bayanihan laws—Bayanihan to Heal as One and Bayanihan to Recover as One —increased the government’s initial capacity to respond to the demands of the COVID-19 crisis, Velasco said these were “not sufficient for the genuine economic recovery of the country.”
Citing recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Velasco said the economy contracted by 9.5 percent overall in 2020, the worst performance in the nation’s post-war history.
Such a contraction, he said, is significantly deeper than the predicted contraction of 4.5 to 6.6 percent drop, which became the basis for the 2021 budget.
“Given that actual economic output in 2020 was far below what was assumed for budget purposes, and further losses may still be incurred as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to prevail well into the current fiscal year, an additional economic stimulus package is needed to help the government meet its recovery targets for the year,” he said.
The breakdown of the proposed P420 billion appropriation under Bayanihan 3 is as follows:
P52 billion for subsidies to small business for wages and other worker-related expenses; P100 billion for the capacity-building of businesses in critically affected sectors; P108 billion for additional social amelioration to affected households through programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development; P70 billion for the provision of assistance and capacity-building to farmers, livestock producers and fishermen; P30 billion for the implementation of unemployment assistance and cash-for-work programs under the Department of Labor and Employment; P30 billion for internet allowances to primary, secondary and tertiary students and teachers in public and private educational institutions; P5 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the rehabilitation of typhoon-affected areas, including the repair, reconstruction or construction of flood control works, roads, bridges, public buildings and other damaged public works, to be distributed proportionately among provinces and cities affected, and P25 billion to the Department of Health for the procurement of COVID-19 medication and vaccines, and to finance logistics, information awareness campaigns, and other related operational expenses.
He lamented that “uncertainty is the primary effect this pandemic has on every aspect of our lives.”
Faced with continued risk and uncertainty, he said household consumption has significantly declined, contributing as much as 5.7 percent to the total 9.5 percent annual reduction in output in 2020.
“Government must therefore take the lead to promote business and consumer confidence and social welfare. Increased, well-targeted spending is a vital step to achieving these goals,” he added.
Meanwhile, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel is batting to triple the amount of unemployment insurance that laid off workers can claim from the Social Security System.
He filed House Bill 8594 to enable dislocated workers to claim unemployment benefits equal to 50 percent of their monthly salary for a maximum of six months granted through a one-time payment.
To date, the subsidy is equal to 50 percent of the monthly salary for a maximum of two months.
“Our bill seeks to give more meaning to social security, and to the mandate of the 1987 Constitution for the state to afford full protection to labor,” Pimentel said.
“We have to guarantee households income security and safeguard them against distress when breadwinners lose their jobs through no fault of their own,” he added.
The bill, if passed, would mandate that a displaced worker who used to earn P15,000 per month could claim P45,000 in unemployment benefits.
At present, the same worker could claim only P15,000.
Pimentel’s bill seeks to amend Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018.
Under the law, the unemployment insurance is a cash grant, and not a loan, and does not have to be repaid.
The benefit is paid to cover employees, including household staff and overseas Filipino workers, who lost their jobs due to retrenchment or downsizing, closure or cessation of operation, installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy or similar reasons.
