Sotto defends Bayanihan to Heal as One Act
Published Jun 2, 2020 12:00 am
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has defended the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act No. 11469) from claims of unconstitutionality.
Senator Vicente Sotto III
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) "We did not pick the Act out of thin air. We were supported by the best legal minds available to us," Sotto, one of the principal authors of the law, said on Tuesday. Jaime Ibañez, former law dean of the Laguna State Polytechnic University, had filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) asking the high court to declare as unconstitutional the law which was crafted and enacted to address the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines. Ibañez claimed that there had been an "undue delegation" of legislative power to the President and its "usurpation" when the latter issued proclamations declaring a state of calamity and a state of public health emergency in the country. The Senate chief, however, said he is confident that the SC "will see the point of Congress" in passing the Bayanihan Act. He said the law, anyway, would have expired when the petition is taken up by the judiciary. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, signed last March 24, granted President Duterte the necessary powers to implement programs addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate impacts. Among others, it authorized Duterte to realign funds from the appropriations of agencies in the executive department and government-owned and controlled corporations to finance programs for COVID-19 response, including social amelioration for affected communities and the recovery of areas, sectors and severely-affected industries. The law is set to expire on June 24. Currently, the Senate is tackling the Senate Bill No. 1564, or the "Bayanihan to Recover as One" bill (Bayanihan 2), which seeks to continue the powers granted to Duterte under RA 11469 and sustain the country's fight against the coronavirus. It also proposes an additional spending authority for programs supporting affected sectors. To address possible questions on constitutionality, senators earlier agreed to remove or amend provisions that would be deemed as being "emergency" in nature, since Article 6, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution states that powers granted to the President during national emergencies should cease to exist when Congress adjourns. They also clarified that the proposed Bayanihan 2 is not an extension of the validity of the RA 11469. "A new law will solve the issue," Sotto said. The Senate will resume discussing the SB 1564 on Wednesday afternoon in the period of amendments. It is expected that the senators will approve the bill on second reading, then on third and final reading, if the President certifies it as urgent. Congress will go on sine die adjournment on June 5. 
Senator Vicente Sotto III(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) "We did not pick the Act out of thin air. We were supported by the best legal minds available to us," Sotto, one of the principal authors of the law, said on Tuesday. Jaime Ibañez, former law dean of the Laguna State Polytechnic University, had filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) asking the high court to declare as unconstitutional the law which was crafted and enacted to address the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines. Ibañez claimed that there had been an "undue delegation" of legislative power to the President and its "usurpation" when the latter issued proclamations declaring a state of calamity and a state of public health emergency in the country. The Senate chief, however, said he is confident that the SC "will see the point of Congress" in passing the Bayanihan Act. He said the law, anyway, would have expired when the petition is taken up by the judiciary. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, signed last March 24, granted President Duterte the necessary powers to implement programs addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate impacts. Among others, it authorized Duterte to realign funds from the appropriations of agencies in the executive department and government-owned and controlled corporations to finance programs for COVID-19 response, including social amelioration for affected communities and the recovery of areas, sectors and severely-affected industries. The law is set to expire on June 24. Currently, the Senate is tackling the Senate Bill No. 1564, or the "Bayanihan to Recover as One" bill (Bayanihan 2), which seeks to continue the powers granted to Duterte under RA 11469 and sustain the country's fight against the coronavirus. It also proposes an additional spending authority for programs supporting affected sectors. To address possible questions on constitutionality, senators earlier agreed to remove or amend provisions that would be deemed as being "emergency" in nature, since Article 6, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution states that powers granted to the President during national emergencies should cease to exist when Congress adjourns. They also clarified that the proposed Bayanihan 2 is not an extension of the validity of the RA 11469. "A new law will solve the issue," Sotto said. The Senate will resume discussing the SB 1564 on Wednesday afternoon in the period of amendments. It is expected that the senators will approve the bill on second reading, then on third and final reading, if the President certifies it as urgent. Congress will go on sine die adjournment on June 5.