Senators are more inclined to include COVID-19 assistance packages in the 2022 national budget instead of passing a third Bayanihan law.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said this Monday, July 19, as the upper chamber prepares for the opening of the third regular session of the 18th Congress next week.
He said senators would meet before their resumption to take up whether or not the government has fiscal capacity to finance another Bayanihan measure.
"It's on the table...Titignan lang po natin sa ating Gabinete kung meron po tayong dagdag pondo para dito, at parating na kasi ang ating national budget (We just have to ask our Cabinet if we have the funds for this, and the bill for next year's national budget will be taken up anyway)," he said over the Laging Handa public briefing.
The House of Representatives passed last June its proposed Bayanihan to Arise as One Act or Bayanihan 3, which seeks to appropriate P401 billion for continued COVID-19 assistance and stimulus.
Among others, proposes to distribute a cash aid of P2,000 to all Filipinos and an additional cash subsidy for P10,000 for households in areas under strict quarantine levels.
But senators preferred to include such funds for financial assistance in the upcoming 2022 General Appropriations Act.
"Ang gusto po ng ating mga kasamahan, ilagay na po sa ating 2022 national budget, which will be discussed by August, September...para madagdagan po natin ang pondo ng ating gobyerno for assistance, financial assistance and packages sa industries na natamaan ng pandemya (What our colleagues want is to put these in the 2022 national budget, which will be discussed by August, September, so we can augment the government's funds for financial assistance and packages for industries hit by the pandemic)," Zubiri said.
The 18th Congress will resume sessions after President Duterte's sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26.
Asked about the Senate's priority measures for its third regular session, Zubiri said they hope to approve the bills pushed by the executive department for the economic recovery, such as the proposed amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Law, which is pending in the bicam level; the proposed amendments to the Foreign Investments Act as well as the Public Services Act.
These were earlier certified as urgent by Duterte.
"By month of August matatapos na natin (we will be able to finish them)," the Senate majority leader said.
Aside from this, Zubiri said they also promised Duterte to expedite the passage of the bill creating the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFIL), which the Chief Executive also considered a priority a bill.