By Vanne Elaine Terrazola Senate President Vicente Sotto III has proposed an "economic stimulus strategy" worth at least P548 billion to help the Philippines recover from the COVID-19 pandemic's social and economic impacts. Senator Vicente Sotto III
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Sotto on Wednesday, May 27, disclosed that he filed Senate Bill No. 1542, which proposes a stimulus program to “restore economic growth, maintain employment levels, and expand the productive capacity of the country" in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak. "To offset and mitigate the damages that COVID-19 brought to our country, measures should be put in place through legislative enactments. Since the intent of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act is to cushion the effects of COVID-19 to the country's health system and to its citizens, it did not cover the economic effect of this pandemic,” Sotto said in a statement. In a video conference with reporters later, Sotto said the salient features of his 53-page bill include an "immediate and mandatory" mass testing for COVID-19, which covers health workers, close contacts of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, and "everyone" in communities that recorded the highest rate of the coronavirus transmission. Under the proposal, testing kits shall be made available to government agencies and local government units, as well as private institutions. It also seeks to "expand" the wage subsidies and temporary employment programs for informal sector workers, non-essential businesses, freelancers, self-employed and repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The Tertiary Education subsidy provided under Republic Act 10931 shall also be expanded to cover all students whose families are now facing financial difficulties due to the various community quarantines, and waiving of registration and other related fees. A "Special Interest-Free Loan Fund" shall also be allocated for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Sotto likewise wants the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its sub-agencies to assist critically impacted DOT-accredited tourism enterprises. "For 2020, ang expected na kakailanganin natin dito ay (we expect to require) P548 billion for the entire year. And then for 2021, para maipagpatuloy ito (so we could continue this), probably the estimate is around P80 billion," Sotto said. Sotto said the needed funds could be sourced from loans and all available and unused funds from the government's budget this year and the previous years. He said government finance managers could come up with ways to finance these programs. In pushing for the approval of his bill, Sotto said the country's economy could collapse if necessary measures are not set in place the soonest time possible. “Our situation could get worse if our government will not act swiftly. Lawmakers need to work fast in giving back life to our economy. We cannot dilly-dally until the last minute. Measures to help revive businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis should be enacted with haste to prevent the economy from total collapse," he said. Sotto said a similar bill was filed in the House of Representatives by Quezon Representative Mark Enverga, a party mate at the Nationalist People”s Coalition.