Bayanihan 2 to be ‘more responsive,’ improve distribution of gov’t aid —Cayetano

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said that the second part of the Bayanihan Law, which the House of Representatives intends to pass, will be "more responsive" and will include measures to improve the distribution of assistance under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

“Congress will be exercising its oversight functions to ensure that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated,” Cayetano said in a statement.

“We want also to ensure that SAP will be given to all Filipinos who need it most. We respect and acknowledge the tremendous work done by the departments involved, but our citizens cannot afford to wait that long. There must be a better way, and together we will find it,” he added.

The House Committee of the Whole last Wednesday approved House Bill 6953, or the proposed Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, before it adjourned sine die.

The measure, which Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte described as the "new and enhanced" version of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, proposes P162 billion worth of response interventions to help the country recover from the COVID-19 crisis and boost the economy.

“Habang ang buong bansa ay naghahanda sa pagpasok ng 'new normal,' abala po ang buong gobyerno—kasama na ang Kongreso—sa paghahanap ng mga paraan upang mapaghandaan ang mga pagsubok na haharapin natin,” Cayetano added.

“Now we must take the hard lessons we have learned the past months and apply it in the testing, tracing, and treatment of patients in order to escape the threat of a more devastating second wave,” he added.

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

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

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