From Cha-Cha to cash bonanza
After the charter change proposal was met with vehement opposition from the public, lawmakers are now adopting a strategy to appease the Filipino people suffering from the pandemic — the Bayanihan 3 cash bonanza.
Gaining support in the House of Representatives is House Bill 8628, or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise As One Act” filed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo. There are now calls for President Duterte to certify the bill as urgent.
Contrary to the Cha-Cha proposal that uses the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for amending the Constitution, the Bayanihan 3 proponents are backing their proposals with economic consideration, which is the need for the government to infuse cash in our beleaguered economy. Bill sponsor and economist Quimbo explained that the recent events that prompted the need for Bayanihan 3 are the 9.5 percent contraction of the economy, the worst since World War 2, and the rising prices of essential commodities. There is a need for the government to infuse a substantial amount into the economy to prevent what she called a “stagflation” or a combination of a stagnant economy and high inflation, which was recorded at 4.2 percent in January.
On top of Bayanihan 2 and the COVID-centric 2021 national budget, Bayanihan 3 aims to provide a P420-billion economic stimulus. The bill seeks to allocate P108 billion for additional social amelioration to impacted households; P100 billion for capacity-building for impacted sectors; P52 billion for wage subsidies; P70 billion for capacity-building for agricultural producers; P30 billion for internet allowances to teachers and students; P30 billion for assistance to displaced workers; P25 billion for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines; and P5 billion for the rehabilitation of areas affected by recent floods and typhoons.
While the proposal may have good intentions, but without the necessary funding, the proposal becomes an empty promise. When Bayanihan 2 was still deliberated in Congress, a huge budgetary allocation for a stimulus package was turned down by the economic managers and the Palace. Given the country’s ongoing economic recession, the government cannot turn to the imposition of new taxes to fund the proposal. With this huge amount of proposal, the government will again be compelled to secure loans, which can lead to difficulties in loan payments since the Duterte administration has already secured more than enough loans to respond to the pandemic.
Our lawmakers should defer to our economic managers because the latter based their recommendations on extensive study and thorough analysis. Given that the elections are just months away, we must always examine the motive behind the cash bonanza proposal. It is impossible to get something for nothing. In Philippine politics, it is oftentimes difficult to isolate public interest from personal interest.