Recto pushes for Bayanihan 3 to aid typhoon victims this year

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Monday raised the possibility of passing another Bayanihan law this year to immediately aid the victims of the series of typhoons that battered the country in the past weeks, Typhoon Ulysses being the latest.

"If we were quick to act for a Bayanihan 1 and 2 for the pandemic, why not have a Bayanihan 3 for this typhoon?" Recto asked during the budget debates in the Senate.

Senate Finance Committee chairperson Sonny Angara said he is not opposed to the proposal but is only concerned if there would be enough time to pass the law, given that the Senate is still deliberating the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.

"If for instance, a special session is called if needed, then that would be a possibility," Angara said.

Recto was optimistic that the senators could discuss a Bayanihan 3 as he projected that the budget bill may be approved on second and third readings "within the week."

"I am one with the chairman to pass this budget by Friday, second and third reading, so there should be enough time to pass a supplemental budget if necessary or Bayanihan 3 not only for the pandemic but for those affected by the most recent typhoons," he said.

Typhoon Ulysses, the eighth cyclone that affected the country in the past two months and the 21st of the year, killed at least 67 people and affected over 428,000 families from eight regions, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

During the same plenary debates, Angara mentioned that approximately P8.6 billion is left of the government's calamity funds for this year. He said the Finance Committee has agreed to increase the Calamity Fund and Quick Response Funds to at least P26 billion in 2021.

Meanwhile, P82.4 billion out of the P140 billion programmed funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 was released to government agencies for COVID-19 response, according to Angara.

Lamenting the Department of Budget and Management's apparently slow release of funds, Recto also filed a bill seeking to extend the validity of appropriations under the Bayanihan 2 beyond its expiration on December 19. — RSJ, GMA News