Congress has approved the Bayanihan 2 bill that earmarks P165 billion for a stimulus package to support the recovery of distressed micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from the financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Senate has ratified the consolidated version of the bill approved by the bicameral conference committee, while the House is expected to ratify the same on Monday, Aug. 24.
“The swift approval of ‘Bayanihan to Recover as One’ in the bicameral committee has shown the joint commitment of both houses of Congress to unite and help bring our nation back from the brink of public health and economic ruin brought about by this global pandemic,” Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Under the approved measure, low-interest loans will be made available to productive sectors of the economy, especially in the countryside, including self-employed individuals, cooperatives, and MSMEs.
The measure also provides that lending institutions will not require collateral for loans not exceeding P3 million, with loans payable within three years.
Of the P140-billion appropriations provided under the measure, Bayanihan 2 seeks to infuse a total of P39.47 billion worth of capital to government financial institutions, broken down as follows:
P10 billion to the Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) to strengthen its COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program to ensure additional access to working capital for MSMEs, cooperatives, hospitals, tourism industry players, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); P5 billion for the credit guarantee program of the Philippine Guarantee Corp. (Philguarantee); P18.47 billion for Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP); and P6 billion for Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Another P15.52 billion has been included in the standby fund for the LBP and DBP to be made available once additional funds are generated from savings and unused amounts.
While only P140 billion is readily available, the overall stimulus funding under Bayanihan 2 has authorized the spending plan of up to a maximum of P165.5 billion, which includes a P25.5 billion standby fund.
Based on the approved bill, the combined regular appropriations and stand-by fund for the government financial institutions will total P55 billion, which is equivalent to one-third of the entire package.
Cayetano said MSMEs in the agri-fishery, transport, health, and tourism sectors as well as cooperatives and OFWs can avail themselves of the various loan facilities to help them reboot their businesses and preserve more jobs.
He cited a June 20 report from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that showed more than 3,000 establishments nationwide permanently closing or cutting back their workforce due to the pandemic, leaving 90,000 people jobless.
“With adequate support from the government and strong collaboration with the private sector, we hope to reverse the trend of joblessness and restore business confidence in the country as we strengthen our fight against COVID-19,” he said.
Deputy Speaker for Finance and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, the lead author in the House of both Bayanihan 1 and 2, said the bicameral panel came up with the consolidated version of Bayanihan 2 that provides for a stimulus package worth P165 billion—or higher than the funding in both the Senate and House versions—“in an effort to accommodate all COVID-battered sectors that have sought immediate government assistance in the face of the likely protracted battle with the coronavirus pandemic.”
The House-approved version provided for a stimulus package worth P162 billion while the Senate had passed its counterpart bill that proposed a smaller outlay of P140 billion.
“We are hoping the P165 billion outlay set in this consolidated version that will be ratified by both chambers of the Congress would just be an initial stimulus package, given the huge amount that we legislators in the House believe is needed to spell a strong and early recovery for the sectors reeling from the global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic,” Villafuerte said.
He expressed the hope that “Malacañang would be able to raise more resources in the months ahead to fund further stimulus packages needed for an early and strong economic rebound,” particularly the House-approved proposals on the P1.5-trillion COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus Act (CURES) and P1.3-trillion Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy Act (ARISE) that both call for aggressive spending on measures to energize the economy and ease the pandemic’s impact on its worst-hit sectors.
Meanwhile, Cayetano assured small business owners that the government will continue to find solutions that will bring about short- and long-term benefits as the country recovers from the health and economic crisis.
After the Senate ratification of Bayanihan 2, Senator Christopher Go said the government must account for every centavo of the P165 billion set aside by the bill.
He reminded the implementing agencies to ensure that financial assistance would go down to and be felt by the needy and most affected.
Go, who serves as chairman of the Senate committee on health and demography, said he is confident that the measure will go a long way to put the country on the road to recovery.
The Bayanihan 2 bill, seen to replace the expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, also lays out the country’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan and allocates funds to help struggling sectors cope with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Go cited provisions that would provide benefits of both public and private health care workers who developed mild or severe symptoms of COVID-19 or died due to the virus while in the line of duty.
Under the first Bayanihan law, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of Bayanihan 1, Duterte’s office was required to submit a report to Congress every week.
But the reconciled version of the Bayanihan 2 bill approved by Congress’ bicameral conference committee only mandates the President to submit a report every first Monday of the month.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the monthly report should contain the “targets and actual accomplishments of government programs, strategies, plans, and efforts relative to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as relevant and more granulated health-related data.”
He said the terms and conditions of any loan entered into by the government to finance the programs and projects mandated under the proposed law should also be included in the report.
Furthermore, the President’s office should also include in the report a table which would detail the breakdown of expenditures and funding sources for the programs and projects under the measure, among others.
ara said the Office of the President will collate reports from various agencies tasked to implement Bayanihan 2.
The Bayanihan 2 retained the authority given to Duterte under the Bayanihan 1 to reprogram and realign funds from any government agency under the executive department, as well as government-owned or state-controlled corporations, “to augment the allocation for any item needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Bayanihan 2 will be effective until Dec. 19, 2020.
Also on Friday, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) welcomed the approval of Bayanihan to Recover as One Act 2 and the provisions that will help stimulate business activities to reinvigorate the economy.
“We commend Congress for enacting the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act which is envisioned to stimulate the economy and help it recover from the pandemic,” said MAP president Francis Lim.
The group credited legislators for keeping health in focus, which is key to opening the economy.