A lawmaker filed a bill seeking to extend the validity of Bayanihan 2 (Recover as One Act) until March 27, 2021.
AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Representative Sharon Garin and Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian filed House Bill 8099 to ensure economic recovery and people affected by the pandemic would get assistance.
The Bayanihan 2 will expire on December 19, 2020, when the House of Representatives adjourns for the holidays.
Garin said the extension is a must since there was a “substantial delay” in releasing funds for different programs, projects, and activities that would have given assistance to the people.
The bill would also give government financial institutions (GFIs) and local government units (LGUs) ample time to complete the release of funds for COVID-19 response and recovery programs.
In the Senate, a counterpart Bayanihan 2 extension bill has been filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.
“Upon the enactment of the bill, the availability of the appropriations provided under Section 10 of RA 11494 and Republic Act No. 11465, otherwise known as the General Appropriations Act of 2020, including interventions and the automatic appropriations of new programs, projects, and activity under Section 4 (rr) of RA 11494, shall be extended until the next adjournment of the 18th Congress on March 27, 2021,” the bill’s authors said.
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Bayanihan 2 allotted P13.5 billion to health-related responses, including the continued employment and hiring of emergency human resources for health.
It also allocated P4.5 billion to construct temporary medical isolation and quarantine facilities, field hospitals, dormitories for frontliners, and enhance the capacity of government hospitals nationwide.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development was given P6 billion for emergency subsidy for areas that will be under granular lockdowns wherein residents affected could receive P5,800.