A lawmaker on Thursday warned the implementers of the government’s Social Amelioration Program of possible criminal charges if they exclude the areas with less strict quarantine restrictions from the second wave of financial assistance.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez issued the warning as the implementing agencies led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development are preparing to distribute another P100 billion to the low-income families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the Inter-Agency Task Force against COVID-19, on the recommendation of the department, has decided to limit the second wave of assistance to households in the communities covered by stricter enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine.
No impact
The expiration of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act will have no impact on the distribution of cash assistance to the poor families affected by the pandemic, Malacañang said Thursday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque gave the assurance in a virtual presser aired on state-run PTV-4 as the validity of RA 11469 ended on Thursday.
“As of now, it has no impact,” Roque said.
“It’s not covered by the Bayanihan Act. It’s a physical act of disbursing what has been allotted by Congress, so there will be no problem with that.”
Online meeting
Southeast Asian leaders will have an online meeting on Friday to discuss developments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as regional issues including the South China Sea dispute, Malacañang said Thursday.
Chief of Presidential Protocol Robert Borje said President Rodrigo Duterte will participate in the meeting via teleconference with nine other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“President Duterte and his Asean counterparts will review current initiatives and explore new avenues for enhanced cooperation to strengthen the region’s capacity to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Borje, who is also the Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs.
Duque should stay
Vice President Leni Robredo believes Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should stay in his post amid the Ombudsman’s investigation into his supposed lapses in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
She told ANC that the government must not change the leadership at the Department of Health.
“We are fighting a difficult opponent. We must be all hands. Perhaps we should not change the general while we are in the middle of the battle,” Robredo said.
Leaders will find ways
The leadership of the House of Representatives will find ways to address the problem of repatriating the tens of thousands of Filipino workers abroad who were displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said Thursday.
House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said he agreed with the directive of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano for the House committee on public accounts led by Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor to launch an inquiry into the matter.
Romualdez is the chairman of the House committee on rules, which has authorized the conduct of committee hearings into the matter during the congressional break.
Inquiry sought
The Gabriela Women’s Party, together with other Makabayan bloc party-lists, have filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the reports of companies abusing the work-from-home (WFH) arrangements during the pandemic to implement unfair labor practices, such as wage cuts for sluggish internet connections.
In House Resolution 997, Gabriela said the shift to work-from-home of many companies, while desirable for employees during the pandemic, “comes with a slew of challenges to decent work and labor rights.
“At first look, the work-from-home setup may seem to be the logical work arrangement due to the health and safety restrictions. But there are mounting reports wherein companies are shifting the costs of electricity and connectivity to their employees because no allowance or subsidy are provided,” Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said in a statement on Thursday.
Comelec move
The Commission on Elections has stopped issuing voter identification cards or Comelec IDs following reports of thousands of fake voter IDs being used to receive government aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Comelec has stopped issuing Voter IDs in anticipation of the launch of the National ID system,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said.
“The fake news that a person has to be a registered voter in order to receive government aid during this COVID-19 national health crisis has created a market for fake voter identification cards.”
Lockdown
The building of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal in Quezon City will be on a lockdown for 14 days after one of its staff tested positive for coronavirus after being subjected to a rapid test last week.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, chairman of the tribunal, the constitutional body mandated to resolve electoral protests filed against elected members of the House of Representatives, said he ordered the building’s lockdown to give way to the disinfection and quarantine of all its personnel.
“I ordered the lockdown of the premises for disinfection and quarantine of all its personnel for 14 days due to a possible case of COVID-19 last Tuesday afternoon,” Leonen said.