Proposed ‘Bayan Bangon Muli’ bill 'mere sloganeering’ unless new funds are available — Lagman

A lawmaker said Saturday that the proposed COVID-19 stimulus measure, dubbed "Bayan Bangon Muli," would merely be a catchphrase unless the incoming administration can find fresh funds.

House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, a cousin of presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and the likely Speaker of the 19th Congress, proposed the bill on Thursday to allow the future administration to harness whatever available resources to boost and reinvigorate the economy.

Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda said the proposed measure would give Marcos Jr. the authority to make adjustments in the budget that he would inherit for fiscal year 2022.

However, for Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman, such a proposal will be reduced to a slogan unless the new administration can find new funding sources.

“Unless the new administration can find or create fresh funds, the ‘stimulus package’ monikered as ‘Bayan Bangon Muli’ (BBM) will be mere sloganeering and simply a change in nomenclature from the original Bayanihan,” Lagman said.

The lawmaker argued that unlike in Bayanihan 1 and 2, "there is nothing more to be realigned in the 2022 national budget because 90% has already been released to departments and agencies.”

The 18th Congress passed two stimulus measures known as “Bayanihan” laws to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the country in March 2020.

“The balance of the Special Purpose Funds are untouchable as they are mandatory like salaries, pensions, and for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Fund (NDRRMF) or the calamity fund,” Lagman said.

The lawmaker also opposed the suggestion to postpone the barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan elections.

“Moreover, democracy at the grassroots should not be sacrificed by the expedience of postponing again the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which have already been previously reset,” Lagman said.

“A new mandate is necessary for the overstaying barangay officials and the overaged youth leaders,” he said.

Romualdez said more than P8 billion worth of savings could be generated if the barangay elections scheduled for December were postponed. —VBL, GMA News