Proposed 'Bayanihan 2' law to be certified as urgent

The proposed "Bayanihan 2" law will be certified as urgent by President Duterte to facilitate the country's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Malacañang said Thursday.

The proposed stimulus program is considered a "strong weapon” to strengthen the government's pandemic response as well as kickstart the economy weakened by the pandemic, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

"Kampante tayo sa isang V-shaped recovery dahil napakalakas nga po ng ating ekonomiya, kakayanin po natin ito (We are confident of our V-shaped recovery because our economy is strong. We can do this)," he said during a televised press briefing.

"Pagdating naman po doon sa sasabihin ni Presidente,  siguro hintayin nalang natin talagang hindi ko po pangungunahan ang Presidente pero naririyan din po ang Bayanihan 2 na sigurado ako ice-certify as urgent. ’Yung Bayanihan 2 naman po ay isa 'yan sa malakas na sandata natin na gagamitin natin para tayo naman po ay makabangon dito sa aberya ng COVID (On what the Present intends to say, maybe we should wait for it. I don't want to preempt the President but I am sure the Bayanihan 2 will be certified as urgent. Bayanihan 2 is one of the strong weapons so we can recover from the COVID pandemic)," he added ahead of the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA).

Republic Act No. 11469, also known as the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act," which gave the President’s additional powers to effectively combat the pandemic, expired last June 25.

Malacañang recently said the Bayanihan 2 bill, that includes the P140-billion stimulus program, has been finalized by the Executive branch and the Legislature after the reported conflict on the on the amount of the package.

The plan to ask Congress to convene a special session, however, has been abandoned since bill, also known as the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, can supposedly be discussed in the reopening of Congress on July 27 instead.

Roque said the Bayanihan 2 bill will include the P10-billion subsidy for expanded testing efforts, P15 billion for cash-for-work program for the hiring of contact tracers, and  P17-billion subsidy to support the transportation sector affected by the pandemic.

The measure will also include the extension of the President's authority to enhance the government's response to the pandemic, including subsidy for low income families and other affected sectors as well as procurement of medical supplies.