Villafuerte insists local projects would create jobs post-COVID-19

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte on Tuesday insisted that local projects were needed to generate local employment especially for individuals whose livelihoods were affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

"Ang gusto namin, nationwide mag-implement ng mga local project para maka-generate ng local employment. Kasi kung maggagawa ka ng tulay sa Calabarzon o Manila ng dalawang bilyong [piso], ang mga taga-probinsya pupunta sa Maynila, e that is contrary to the Balik Probinsya [Program]," he said.

"Paano tayo makaka-create ng trabaho sa barangay kung gagawin lang sa sentro?" he added.

He also pointed out that the national government could always implement local projects.

The Department of Budget and Management had earlier questioned a provision in Villafuerte's proposed "COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) Act" in which most of the projects to be funded by a P1.5-trillion stimulus package were local ones.

During the virtual meeting on the bill by the Social Amelioration cluster of the House Defeat COVID-19 committee, Villafuerte said they wanted to focus on local projects because they wanted people from the provinces employed especially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The proposed CURES Act primarily seeks to raise government spending on the areas of health, education, agriculture, local roads infrastructure, and livelihood (HEAL) with the goal of "maximizing the direct and indirect creation and preservation of jobs, particularly in the rural countryside."

A special outlay to be called the CURES Fund equivalent to P1.5 billion would be released over a period of three years to fund the infrastructure projects under the HEAL priority areas --- an initial P500 billion would be released in the first year, followed by another P500 billion in the second year and another P500 billion in the third year.

The CURES Fund would be available for use for various projects ranging from barangay health centers and municipal and city hospitals to digital equipment for testing, “telehealth” services and e-prescriptions to post-harvest facilities, bagsakan centers and food terminals.

The said fund could also be used to implement other infrastructure projects such as walking or bicycle lanes, bridges across creeks and irrigation canals, evacuation centers and disaster emergency facilities, and roads going to tourist spots, beaches, mountain parks, new business districts or economic zones, and hubs for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Automatically appropriated

During the same meeting, the DBM also asked whether the CURES fund would be an automatically appropriated item in the national budget.

Villafuerte agreed that the CURES fund should be automatically appropriated and should be "over and above" the budget so that it can be immediately used to implement the projects envisioned under the proposed law.

He pointed out that the projects under the measure should be "shovel-ready," meaning they could be implemented in 60 to 90 days.

"Congress has the right to put a provision, and I urge my colleagues na i-automatic na natin ito para wala na yung mga issue na for comprehensive release, for later release," he said.

"Stimulus ito. Meaning if we are able to fund this, it should be implemented ASAP, today, tomorrow, hindi na subject sa mga kung anu-ano pang guidelines. Kung hindi natin i-automatic ito, aabutin ng ilang buwan, ilang taon," he added.

Apart from Villafuerte, other proponents of the measure included Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Paolo Duterte and Loren Legarda, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, ACT CIS party-list Representative Eric Yap, Taguig Representative Lani Cayetano, Anakalusugan party-list Michael Defensor, and Bulacan Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado. — DVM, GMA News