A Boholano lawmaker backs the effort to extend the validity of the Bayanihan 2 law, also known as Republic Act (RA) 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act.
First District Rep. Edgar Chatto is one of the lawmakers who is backing the efforts to extend the validity of the said law.
On Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the bill extending the effectivity of the Coronavirus disease (Covid)-related appropriations under Bayanihan 2 until June 30, 2021.
The Lower House passed the bill with 179 solons voting to approve the bill, and six (6) representatives opposing the extension, with no abstention.
In a press release, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco noted that the lower legislative chamber gave its final approval to House Bill 8063, hours after it received a correspondence from Malacañang that the measure has been certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Lower House recognized the need to extend the effectivity of Bayanihan 2 which was intended to accelerate socioeconomic recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
Velasco is one of the principal authors of the measure, along with House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Committee on Appropriations Chairman Eric Yap and Committee on Accounts Chairman Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.
Bayanihan 2 provides for a stimulus package of P140 billion in regular appropriation and P25 billion as standby fund in response to Covid‘s impact and set to expire on December 19, 2020, yesterday, with a huge portion of the allocation mentioned in the bill yet to be released.
Without the extension, the government will have to release the remaining funds by December 19, 2020 or else the funds will revert to the Bureau of Treasury.
Bayanihan 2 funds include provisions for tourism sector aid, cash for work, direct cash or loan interest subsidy to agriculture sector, assistance to private educational institutions, livelihood, and social services.
In the first congressional district, Chatto is facilitating the implementation of programs such as the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), training scholarship programs of the Technical Education, Skills Development Authority (TESDA), social services support and livelihood aid of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFW), among others.