CAGAYAN de Oro Second District Representative Rufus Rodriguez has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to call Congress for a special session to approve the P1.3 million economic stimulus bill to help various sectors crippled by the health crisis.
Rodriguez said all affected sectors have to be given assistance as soon as possible so they can get back on their feet.
"Time is of the essence. We should approve this stimulus package to help various sectors crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic. If we wait until August or September after we convene for our second regular session in late July, we will have wasted precious time," Rodriguez said.
He said financial aid should be available as the economy begins to gain momentum with the easing of quarantine restrictions in many areas of the country.
The Kagay-anon lawmaker explained that the Constitution authorizes the President to call lawmakers to a special session "at any time during a recess."
The proposed economic stimulus package is contained in the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (Arise) Bill, which the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading last week before Congress adjourned its first regular session.
Rodriguez, who is one of the bill’s authors, said the draft law seeks to allocate P568 billion for 2020: P110 billion for wage subsidies and P30 billion cash for cash for work, both for returning OFWS and domestic displaced workers; P50 billion to MSMEs for loans from the Small Business Corporation; P10 billion aid from DTI for MSMEs; P130 billion for interest free loans from Land Bank and DBP: P10 billion for guarantees from the Phil Guaranty Corp. and P25 billion capitalization to National Development Corp to invest in equity or give loans to businesses.
He said the bill also proposes to allocate P66 billion for the agriculture and fishery sector, P75 billion for the transportation industry, P58 billion for tourism, P44 billion for industries and services and P15 billion as financial aid to students.
Some P650 billion would be allocated for President Duterte’s enhanced Build, Build, Build infrastructure program for 2021, he said.
Members of the administration’s economic team have described the stimulus package proposal as “un-fundable,” as there is neither excess revenues or new revenue sources for it.
But the stimulus proponents have suggested that the country use its savings from the 2018 and 2019 national budget, amounts coming from discontinued projects in 2019 and 2020 budget, amount from the Special fund and from borrowings from multilateral financial institutions, international and domestic banks and the issuance of the economic stimulus bonds, to fund it.