The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill that will authorize government to utilize the 2020 national budget until the end of 2021 to bolster efforts to further resuscitate the economy that has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listed as a priority measure by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his predecessor, Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, House Bill 6656 is expected to win plenary voting on third and final reading before Congress adjourns for the Christmas break on December 19.

ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric Go Yap, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said presidential approval of the measure is expected before the year ends.

Yap said approval of HB 6656 is vital in ensuring the success of government's efforts to help the economy regain its pre-COVID form.

HB 6656 will amend the general provisions of Republic Act No. 11465 or the 2020 General Appropriations Act by extending its validity for an additional year, instead of the original December 31, 2020.

Section 60 of the 2020 GAA will be amended to extend the effectivity of this provision until December 31, 2021.

“To support the economic stimulus efforts of the government, infrastructure projects funded under the FY 2020GAA that have been subjected to the procurement process shall be issued corresponding special allotment release orders by the Department of Budget and Management subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules and regulations,” read the proposed amendment.

Yap is one of the authors of HB 6656.

It will be recalled that in December 2019, President Duterte signed a similar law that extended the validity of all appropriations in the 2019 budget until December 31, 2020. 

The delay in the passage of the 2020 budget and the election ban against the implementation of infrastructure projects in 2019 prompted the Duterte government to seek congressional approval of the extension.