San Jose del Monte City Rep. Rida Robes on Saturday appealed to the leadership of the House of Representatives to prioritize the passage of the proposed Bayanihan 3 bill when Congress resumes session on Monday, May 17.
Robes said Congress should seize the ample opportunity to help displaced workers and companies that have closed because of the pandemic, especially with the continuous contraction of the economy which has resulted in the country’s recession.
“We have yet to recover. In the meantime, unemployment is up, the economy is down. We are in recession,” Robes, chairperson of the House committee on people’s participation, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a member of the Independent Bloc thumbed down efforts of the chamber to push for the enactment of the proposed economic Charter Change when Congress resumes session on Monday.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said he was perplexed as to why the House leadership insists on “Cha-cha” when the lawmakers’ energy should be better spent on assisting the national government in defeating COVID-19 and revitalizing the economy amid a global infection surge.
Villafuerte said the House should instead work on making sure that Filipino families get P10,000 each in one payout under the proposed third Bayanihan law to let vulnerable families cope with the economic shock of COVID-19 and in turn boost household spending nationwide.
This developed as Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte deplored the unnecessary tedious process waitlisted QCitizens had to go through to claim their financial assistance under the second tranche of the Social Amelioration Program.
She said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should show compassion.
“Given the volume of beneficiaries we handled and that of the waitlisted now, it is indeed reprehensible why the DSWD is making it difficult for our QCitizens,” Belmonte said.
The mayor noted that last month, distribution of the P1,000 financial assistance to about 2.4 million individuals facilitated by the city under ECQ Ayuda 2021 only had minor kinks and finished way ahead of schedule because additional verifiers and personnel from the city government were deployed.
“The Bayanihan 3 or House Bill 8628 filed by our Speaker Lord Allan Velasco will provide much-needed assistance to our fellow Filipinos still in need of help at this time,” Robes said.
The lawmaker has filed House Resolution 1718 “to express the full solidarity of the House of Representatives” for the bill’s passage and eventual enactment.
Velasco earlier vowed to pass the Bayanihan 3 measure on final reading when Congress adjourns sine die in July.
