Duterte unlikely to call for special session of Congress to pass Bayanihan 2 — Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte will not likely call for a special session of Congress to pass the bill on the country’s COVID-19 recovery program, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the proposed measure will be deliberated after Congress resumes session on July 27.

“I don’t think we will be calling for [a] special session because Congress will be reopening in a matter of two weeks anyway. So, it will be discussed already in the second regular session of the 18th Congress,” Roque said in an interview with ANC.

Roque had previously said that the Executive branch will ask the Senate and House of Representatives to convene in a special session after the details of the stimulus package have been ironed out.

The Palace said the government could only afford a stimulus package worth P140 billion, which is similar to the Senate’s proposal.

Congress adjourned session last month without passing the bill seeking to extend the validity of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which gave Duterte special powers for three months to effectively tackle the COVID-19 crisis.

The law expired on June 25. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News