Financial Sector Resiliency Act Against COVID-19 likely to be certified as urgent

The Philippine Financial Sector Resiliency Act Against COVID-19 is likely to be certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday.

In a virtual hearing via Zoom, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua told lawmakers that NEDA will recommend that the measure be certified as urgent by the President.

"I think that is very probably because that is what happened also in the Bayanihan Act and considering that we have very limited session days, so we would recommend that approach," he said.

He was referring to House Bill 6622, authored by Quirino District 1 Representative Junie Cua originally named as The Philippine Banking Industry Resiliency Act Against COVID-19 Pandemic.

The measure encourages financial institutions to sell their non-performing assets (NPAs) to Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Corporations (FISTCs), and grants tax exemptions and reduced registration and transfer fees on certain transactions.

"The direction, I think, is to recommend a certification of urgency," said Chua. —KG, GMA News