Congress urged to pass Bayanihan 2, death penalty bills

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 27, 2020, urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), revive the death penalty via lethal injection, and facilitate economic recovery by passing another tax reform bill that will benefit the corporate sector.

Duterte listed his legislative agenda for the year in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) Monday.

He thanked Congress for quickly passing the first Bayanihan measure, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which expired on June 25, 2020.

"May I again reiterate my thanks to you, the men and women of Congress, for the effort you invested in passing that law," Duterte said.

"I hope that we can get some of the same treatment of clarity of purpose and the fastness to support the passage of the Bayanihan to Recover as One which is supplement funds for the recovery and response against the impact of Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier Monday said the Senate will prioritize this measure in its session Tuesday, July 28.

The Senate passed its version of the bill, Senate Bill 1564, on second reading before its sine die adjournment in June.

The House, on the other hand, has yet to tackle the measure.

The Senate bill aims to extend the powers granted to President Duterte under Republic Act No. 11469 to carry out national policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It seeks to repeal a provision of the first Bayanihan law which granted the President the power to take over hospitals and other private facilities amid the Covid-19 crisis.

It will also remove the power of law enforcers to arrest or penalize individuals who violate quarantine policies.

Death penalty

Duterte also reiterated his call for the passage of the death penalty via lethal injection, particularly for crimes provided under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

“I reiterate (my call for) the swift passage of the law reviving the death penalty by lethal injection,” he said.

“This bill will help us deter criminality and save our children posed by the illegal and dangerous drugs,” he added.

He observed that the legislators were not interested in the measure, prompting those in the plenary hall of the Batasang Pambansa to applaud.

The death penalty bill was also listed by Duterte as part of his legislative agenda in the 2019 Sona.

In 2017, the House passed House Bill 4272 which seeks the reimposition of the death penalty. It was submitted to the Senate.

Duterte said in his speech that the government will not “dodge” its obligations to fight for human rights.

"My administration always believed that freedom from illegal drugs, terrorism, corruption, and criminality is itself a human rights violation," he said.

The administration has been criticized here and abroad over its bloody drug war which resulted in the killing of thousands of drug suspects.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said as of May 31, 2020, 5,722 alleged drug personalities were killed while 245,135 others were arrested in the conduct of 168,525 anti-illegal drugs operations since the drug war started when Duterte took office in 2016.

Of the arrested drug personalities, 9,350 were considered high value targets which includes 320 elected officials, 261 foreign nationals, 90 uniformed personnel, 376 government employees, 2,697 target listed, 735 drug group leaders or members, 62 armed group members, 902 drug den maintainers, 217 wanted listed, 10 celebrities or prominent personalities and 3,680 civilians who were arrested during “high-impact operations.”

It said a total of 18,582 barangays out of the 42,045 villages in the Philippines have already been cleared from illegal drugs during the said period.

PDEA said 546 drug dens and 14 clandestine laboratories have been dismantled by the authorities during the crackdown which resulted in the seizure of P43.58 billion worth of various illegal substances such as methamphetamine hydrochloride, cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana leaves.

Economic recovery

Duterte also called on Congress to fast-track the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act, formerly known as the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (Citira).

“This immediately cuts the corporate income levy from the current 30 to 25 percent and gives the government flexibility to grant a combination of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, among others,” Duterte said.

The proposed Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer, or Fist, Act, meanwhile, will set up mechanisms allowing banks and other financial institutions to dispose of and transfer non-performing assets and loans to asset management companies similar to special purpose vehicles.

“We must facilitate the country’s economic recovery,” Duterte said.

The Senate earlier said the Create bill is among its priority measures during the second regular session of the 18th Congress.

The bill aims to help businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises that have been badly hit by the pandemic, rebuild, recover and retain jobs for their employees. (SunStar Philippines)