House Deputy Speaker Bacolod City lone district Rep. Albee Benitez wants to employ the lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic in helping the government tackle the current state of national energy emergency.

"If there is anything we should have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that government must be swift, decisive, and flexible in its response mechanisms," Benitez said in a statement Wednesday morning, March 25.

"To support the executive, I will file the Bayanihan for Economic Resilience and National Stability Act of 2026," he noted.

The name of the measure was a callback to two emergency laws that was passed by Congress at the height of the pandemic in 2020. The first was Republic Act (RA) No. 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (March 2020); and RA No. 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (September 2020).

Benitez says the proposed Bayanihan for Economic Resilience and National Stability Act seeks to empower the executive "to respond efficiently to this evolving crisis while ensuring transparency, accountability, and targeted relief".

The Visayan bloc leader said such relief would be provided through emergency powers, fiscal flexibility, and strategic interventions to stabilize prices, protect vulnerable sectors, and ensure national resilience.

"I appeal to my colleagues—let us start deliberating on this proposal as soon as possible. Now more than ever, we need to act as the House of the People and craft a viable strategy that will allow us to overcome this crisis and ensure the welfare of the Filipino people," he said.

Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) began its annual summer recess last March 19. The lawmakers won't convene again in plenary until May 4, although a special session could be called by the President.

In the same statement, Benitez expressed support for President Marcos' declaration of a state of national emergency and his move to authorize the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT).

He called it "a timely and much-needed response to this new crisis the whole nation is facing".

"I have always advocated for a whole-of-government approach to solving our most serious issues, and this declaration allows for just that—for the government to move as one to ensure that the Filipino people are able to continue living decently, that industries are protected, that no one loses their job because of this crisis," the deputy speaker said.

As fuel prices continue to rise, we need practical solutions that can help ease costs at the community level.

I introduced this biodiesel initiative during my time as Mayor, and we are now putting it to use to support our barangays by providing a more affordable fuel option for equipment such as pumpboats and generators.