Makabayan solons question ‘railroading’ of proposed Bayanihan 2 through committee

Makabayan Bloc lawmakers on Thursday questioned what they described as the "railroaded" passage of the so-called Bayanihan to Recover As One Act through the House Committee of the Whole.

The House of Representatives late Wednesday night convened into the Committee of the Whole to approve the proposed law, which Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte described as the "new and enhanced" version of the first Bayanihan law.

The measure proposes P162 billion-worth of response interventions to help the country recover from the COVID-19 crisis and boost the economy.

However, in a virtual press conference on Thursday, Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas raised concern over the manner by which the measure was approved.

She said the measure was tackled in the Committee of the Whole close to midnight and only less than 60 lawmakers were tuned in to the session.

"Wala nang 60 yung nasa Zoom pala kasi alas dose na nang gabi 'yun, binigay nang mabilisin ang kopya ng komite, committee report, tapos 'yung mismong substitute bill daw," Brosas said.

"Mabilisan ang lahat ng nangyari, wala ngang time para i-review 'yung mga kailangan nating ma-review sa batas at natanong natin 'yung ilan lamang sa mga stark or broad [provisions]," she added.

What is more concerning, Brosas said, is that the House was attempting to approve the proposed second part of the Bayanihan Law without making a full assessment of the impact of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act.

"Kahit na kami sa Makabayan ay bumoto ng 'no' dito, may karapatan kaming malaman kung ano yung aggregate reports ng Malacañang kaugnay dito. Paano yung naging implementasyon ng Bayanihan Act? Paano binuo ang Bayanihan Act 2 at ano ang nilalaman nito? May nakonsulta ba bago ginawa ang measure na ito?" she said.

"Mahalaga kasi na maitala ito sa record kasi ito ang sambayanan. Saan napunta yung P275 billion na sinabi natin na ibibigay na ayuda sa mamamayan?" she added.

Apart from these, Brosas said, it is also important to know what forms of assistance the vulnerable sectors will receive from the proposed second Bayanihan Law.

"Paano sa Bayanihan part 2 ang kalagayan ng mga public transportation, ng mga magsasaka na hindi pa rin nagkaroon ng direct cash aid o cash assistance?" she asked.

For her part, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro surmised that Congress has been railroading COVID-19 response measures as there was really no concrete plan from the government to combat the crisis.

"Ito talaga yung ibinubunga ng walang mahusay na plano kaugnay nung pagharap sa pandemya. Kaya napansin niyo, the last two weeks, lahat ng mga proposals dito ay puro ratsada. Kaya ang mga mamamayan natin, nasa gitna ng pandemya, nasa gitna ng uncertainty," she said.

Like Brosas, Castro also called for an assessment of the first Bayanihan Law before its supplemental bill could be approved.

"Mahalaga sana na na-evaluate yung RA 11469 para makita natin yung assessment," she said.

"Yun ngang second tranche ng SAP ay hindi pa rin naipamimigay. So saan kukuhanin din ulit itong pondo na ito na ilalagak dito sa pino-propose na part 2 na Bayanihan?" she added.

Under the proposed second Bayanihan Law, a P162 billion standby fund will be appropriated and be used to support operations and response measures to address the COVID-19 crisis.

These include enhancement of healthcare services and COVID-19 testing, assistance to workers, the education sector, government financial institutions, the agriculture sector, tourism, among others.

Like the first Bayanihan Law, this measure also provides for the grant of P5,000 to P8,000 subsidy, but now covers "all affected Filipinos" which include low income families, households with recently returned OFWs, and no-work-no-pay individuals such as freelancers and self-employed individuals.

It also grants a one-month emergency subsidy to low-income households who are qualified but not granted such as mandated in the first Bayanihan Law.

Once enacted into law, the measure will take effect in full force only until September 30 this year. — BM, GMA News