Congress seen to hold special session for COVID-19 measures over weekend, says Bong Go

President Rodrigo Duterte will call for a special session of Congress anytime from March 21 to March 23 to craft measures to fight the spread of COVID-19 and address its impact on the country, Senator Bong Go said on Friday night.

In a statement, Go said Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano had both indicated the readiness of the Senate and the House of Representatives to hold the special session on Saturday at 2 p.m.

"I was informed by the Senate President that we are ready to hold the Special Session tomorrow at 2pm. The House of Representatives, through Speaker Alan Cayetano, confirmed that they are ready as well," he said.

The senator said the Office of the President will transit to the lawmakers the proposed supplemental budget, which could be used for granting additional food and cash assistance to families affected by the quarantine.

The session will be livestreamed but guidelines on media coverage have yet to be finalized, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said.

Senators from the minority bloc had called for a special session of Congress to approve a supplemental budget to ease the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat to the livelihood of Filipinos and the Philippine economy.

“In view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, we in the Minority call for a special session of Congress to pass a supplemental budget to address the pandemic and help affected Filipino households, workers, and businesses," the minority senators had said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House of Representatives os prepared to take part in the special session.

“The House of the People stands ready to respond to the call of the President for a special session to pass measures, including a supplemental budget that would give the executive department more flexibility in containing the spread of COVID-19, and help ease the burden brought about by the pandemic among our nation’s most vulnerable sectors,” he said in a statement. —NB/LDF, GMA News