By Vanne Terrazola Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is pushing to grant President Duterte extended and additional powers under the "Bayanihan to Heal as One" Act (Republic Act No. 11469) to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In his Senate Bill No. 1561 released to media on Thursday, May 28, Recto not only proposed the extension of the RA 11469 until September 30, 2020, but also the grant of additional powers to the Chief Executive. A similar bill on the extension has also been filed by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri last May 26. Among others, the Bayanihan Act gave Duterte the authority to realign funds under the 2019 and 2020 national budgets to programs and projects that will mitigate the impact of the national health emergency. On top of the special powers, SB 1561 also seeks to empower the President to further implement amelioration programs for sectors most affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak. These include: • Wage subsidies equivalent to 100 percent of the applicable minimum wage rate for a maximum of two months to "critically-impacted" displaced workers, freelancers, the self-employed and repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). • Tuition subsidies to students in private educational institutions who are not beneficiaries of existing student assistance programs. Specifically, a P8,000 tuition subsidy for qualified students in private higher education; and P3,000 tuition subsidy for students in private elementary, and junior high school • A one-time cash assistance of P5,000 to P8,000 to teaching and non-teaching personnel in private basic education schools and higher education institution, and part-time faculty members in state universities and colleges (SUCs) who were displaced by the deferred opening or reduced offering of classes during the community quarantine • Extended assistance to qualified agri-fishery enterprises, farmers, fisherfolk, and other agricultural workers The President shall also be authorized to direct all banks, and other financial institutions, as well as utility companies to implement a payment scheme to persons with multiple loans, such that after the grant of a minimum of 30-day grace period, settlement of unpaid loans shall be deferred to the end of the loan term without incurring interests, penalties, fees or other charges, in effect extending the maturity of the loan to a period equal to the period of quarantine. Moreover, unpaid credit card and utility bills shall be settled on an installment basis without interest and penalties until December 31, 2020. The Department of Information and Communications Technology shall also be directed to speed up the deployment of critical ICT infrastructure, equipment, software, and wireless technologies throughout the country. Recto said this will address the need for digital connectivity, internet speed and stability, and cybersecurity in e-commerce, e-government, online learning, and telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic. P600-B recovery program Recto's bill would also grant the President a "standby spending authority" to use P600 billion to implement programs addressing the pandemic and its economic impacts. The release of the fund will depend on the collection of increased revenues, new tax or non-tax revenues, or available proceeds. The reserve appropriation covers: • P30 billion for emergency subsidy to workers in industries that are directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and those that support priority programs of the government • P20 billion for cash-for-work program for those displaced by the closure of businesses. The jobs may include the temporary hiring of contact tracers, data encoders and other personnel needed in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic • P20 billion to enhance the capacity of public health care institutions to provide safe and quality health care services and to eliminate, prevent and control other diseases including measles, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, sexually-transmitted diseases, and other non-communicable diseases, as these "have been neglected" during the COVID-19 outbreak • P10 billion to conduct a "large-scale" COVID-19 testing to sustain the government's Trace-Test-Treat (T3) program against the pandemic • P70 billion as "capital infusion" to government banks to implement an expanded guarantee program and the grant low-interest loans for MSMEs, agri-fishery enterprises, primary tourism enterprises, export and import industries, and non-essential businesses and other affected sectors • P80 billion for support programs intended for health workers, displaced OFWs, employees and workers in the formal and informal economy • P20 billion to provide assistance to qualified agri-fishery enterprises and farmers and fisherfolk registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) to ensure food security and continuous productivity of the agricultural sector; and a • P350-billion funding for the programs and projects realigned due to the Bayanihan Act. "Under the Bayanihan Heal as One Act, P350 billion was made available for programs and projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This amount was financed by appropriations under the fiscal years 2019 and 2020 General Appropriations Act that were deemed discontinued, abandoned, reprogrammed, reallocated, or realigned. Under this bill, said programs and projects are again funded in order that the original priorities of the government will not be derailed," Recto noted. Explaining his proposed recovery program, Recto said the return to normalcy warrants the restart of disrupted economic activities, shuttered industries and enterprises, and re-employment of displaced workforces. "Most importantly", he said this should come with the development of stronger mechanisms to prevent and control disease outbreaks and epidemics like COVID-19 in the future. Recto said his bill seeks to save lives, protect incomes and strengthen the resilience of the country's socioeconomic institutions in dealing with the pandemic. "These interventions are being sought to soften the impact of a projected economic downturn, and to accelerate the socioeconomic recovery of the country," he stressed.