President Duterte has certified as urgent the bills that would extend the availability of the funds under the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the "Bayanihan to Recover as One", or Bayanihan 2 Act, to further aid the country's COVID-19 response.
(PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he received on Monday afternoon a document from the Office of the President certifying as a priority the measures to extend the validity of the two laws.
"Yes. Just received it," the Senate leader confirmed to reporters on Viber, saying the President's certification is now with the Senate secretariat.
Senators earlier expressed their support for the proposed extension of the validity of the 2020 budget and the Bayanihan 2 to help fund the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Francis Pangilinan lamented on Monday problems with unspent funds and the absorptive capacity of government agencies.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, Senate finance committee chairman, said on Twitter that he is ready to sponsor the bill for the extension of the GAA and the Bayanihan 2 and that he is "Just waiting for the to pass both as well as certification of urgency from the Palace."
Last week, the House of Representatives approved on second reading House Bill No. 6656, which pushes the extension of the availability of the funds under the 2020 GAA from December 31, 2020, to December 31, 2021.
The House appropriations committee also endorsed the approval of the bill to extend the Bayanihan 2's validity from December 19, 2020, to June 30 of next year.
The President's certification will allow Congress to do away with its three-day rule and immediately approve measures on third and final reading.