Voting 221-6, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill extending the validity of the 2020 budget until end-2021.
The House in plenary session approved House Bill 6656, which intends to boost the economic stimulus efforts of the government amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill proposes to extend the availability of the 2020 appropriations to December 31, 2021 to provide funding for infrastructure projects under the current fiscal year that have been subjected for procurement.
It amends Republic Act 11465, or the General Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2020. A counterpart bill has also been filed at the Senate. Bayanihan 2 is set to expire on December 19 when Congress adjourns.
This was after President Rodrigo Duterte urged lawmakers to extend the validity of the 2020 budget and the Bayanihan 2 law to allow the government to roll out anti-COVID-19 measures that were delayed.
Meanwhile, The Palace said the Philippines can borrow to procure vaccines against COVID-19, after critics questioned the availability of funds for a massive vaccination drive next year.
“The election is still a long way off. Stop politicking,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino.
He was referring to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, who said that of the P72.5 billion allotted for vaccines in the 2021 national budget, only P2.5 billion was funded.
Roque said they have repeatedly said that the money can come from loans to get the P72.5 billion needed.
The government’s vaccine czar, Carlito Galvez Jr., said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would be the fund manager and procurement agent for the country’s vaccine supply to ensure that the process is transparent and corruption-free.
He said the Philippines would use $1 billion from the ADB to borrow more funds from local state banks and corporations for advance market commitments for vaccines, which need to be closed by December and January.
Roque also played down concerns that China would use its vaccine to pressure the Philippines on geopolitical issues.
“What pressure would China apply to us? Our policy is to have friends and not enemies… we have independent foreign policy," he said.
Roque did not mention the ongoing territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea.
Bayanihan 2, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, allows the President to realign funds to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides P8 billion for buying vaccines against the coronavirus, which would revert to the National Treasury if it is not spent before the law expires.
Bayanihan 2 also allots P140 billion to help sectors affected by the pandemic and earmarks P25 billion in standby funds should the government need more money to finance COVID-19-related projects.
In a letter to House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco dated Dec. 14, the President said extending the validity of the two laws would ensure the continuous implementation of government programs aimed at addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic disruption that it caused.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President certified as urgent a bill extending the validity of the two laws.
The budget heads of the Senate and the House of Representatives confirmed that Congress is planning to extend the validity of the two laws.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Senate will do its best to pass the measures on Tuesday or Wednesday before Congress goes on a Christmas break on Dec. 19.
The Palace, meanwhile, said it has yet to receive copies of the P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021 from Congress, saying the President needs enough time to review the spending plan.
The Palace official urged both chambers of Congress to transmit the budget proposal as soon as possible so that the President can sign it before the year ends.
Earlier, Roque assured the public that the President would exercise his veto authority if he sees any questionable items in the budget proposal.
Senator Christopher Go, meanwhile, called on concerned agencies to ensure their various programs are fully implemented and reminded them to immediately release financial aid to intended beneficiaries in accordance with the laws.
Go emphasized that as the fiscal year comes to an end and a new budget for 2021 has been prepared, agencies must ensure that the provisions in Bayanihan 2 and the 2020 budget are also properly implemented.
He added that government support through its various programs must reach the people, particularly those most in need, and that public funds must be spent properly with no amount wasted.
Following various calls for the immediate release of the funds, Secretary of Budget and Management Wendel E. Avisado ordered his department to act on all budget requests within 24 hours upon receipt if the requirements are complete. He, however, maintained that proper processes must be followed to ensure transparency and accountability in the transactions.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said he supports an extension of the expiring Bayanihan 2 as well as the 2020 national budget, particularly “in light of reports by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that the country’s Covid-19 war chest is relatively small compared to its neighboring Asia countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.”
However, Drilon said the “funding remains the biggest problem of the government.”
“I support extending the validity of the spending authorization under GAA 2020 and Bayanihan 2. The problem is where to source the funds to back up these authorizations,” Drilon said in a statement Monday.
“To provide authorization is one thing but to fund it is another. Our current fiscal space makes us doubt whether the level of unspent amount under Bayanihan 2 and 2020 GAA is something the government can absorb on top of the programmed expenditures for next year,” Drilon added.
To address the government’s cash requirement, he said the government must do another “cash sweep” to raise funds to implement much-needed relief programs in the Bayanihan 2 and continue critical programs, projects, and activities under 2020 GAA.
A leader of the House of Representatives on Monday welcomed the move to provide a significant boost to spending on social services under the final version of the 2021 budget.
Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera said both houses of Congress agreed to increase the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) by P3.669 billion, bringing its total budget to P176.66 billion under the 2021 general appropriations bill.
Herrera was part of the 21-member contingent to the bicameral conference committee, which was tasked by Velasco to reconcile with the Senate the disagreeing provisions of House Bill 7727, or the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2021.
Under the reconciled version, Herrera said the Office of the Secretary of the DSWD got a net increase of P9.535 billion for protective services for individuals and families in difficult circumstances.