Drilon confident Bayanihan Law 2 will drop punitive provisions

The proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act that is being deliberated in the Senate will no longer be punitive as the penal provisions of the first Bayanihan law won't be carried over, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.

"I thank the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Sen. Sonny Angara for adopting my amendment to repeal Section 6 of the Bayanihan law given what we saw as serious cases of abuses and inequity in the implementation of the law," Drilon said in a statement.

"I expect it to be approved unanimously by the Senate. The repeal of Section 6 will not affect the intent and objectives of the law, which is a health measure more than anything else," he added.

During a Senate hearing last week, Drilon pointed out that Section 6 of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (RA 11469) should be repealed if ever the law will be extended further.

He said the prohibited acts enumerated in Section 6 are already punishable under existing laws.

Philippine National Police chief Police General Archie Gamboa also said the police do not often use the Bayanihan law in charging violators amid the pandemic.

"If we run through the cases that have been filed against the violators of the quarantine rules, we have not actually used 11469, because I myself have actually dissected this (law) and true enough, we need the requirement of deputation of other government agencies for the PNP to function," Gamboa said.

"The usual recourse was RA 11332 or usually the Revised Penal Code when the offender has become disobedient," he added.

Gamboa said he will submit to the wisdom of the Senate if Section 6 of the Bayanihan law will be repealed.

Under the said provision in the first Bayanihan law, spreading false information about COVID-19, hoarding, profiteering, manipulation of prices, and product deceptions are considered violations. Local government officials disobeying national government directives in imposing quarantines may likewise be penalized.

On Monday, Senator Sonny Angara sponsored Senate Bill No.1564 or the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act which seeks to facilitate the economic recovery after the health crisis bogged down operations of several business establishments in the country.

It provides for the appropriation of a P236-billion standby fund to support operation and response measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic and shall take effect after the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act ends. — DVM, GMA News