Special session urged to extend Bayanihan 2, Covid-19 funds

MANILA – The House of Representatives must conduct special sessions to enable its members to approve the extension of the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2) Act, which will expire on June 30, 2021.

In an aide memoire addressed to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, House Ways and Means Committee chair Joey Salceda said that with the impending expiration, funding for contract tracers and human resources for health (HRH) hired under Bayanihan 2 will also lapse.

“Without such extension, provinces potentially face a situation of having their contact tracing and health care response capacities drastically reduced for at least 26 days (from the law’s expiry to the opening of session on July 26),” the Albay Second District representative said in a statement on Friday.

Local response teams and civil society groups have requested Congress to pass a bill providing for an extension of the appropriations and capacity to obligate and disburse funds until Dec. 31, 2021.

“The extension is a matter of life and death in many communities, as contact tracers and augmented human resources for health were hired under Bayanihan 2 contracts that will also expire by June 30,” Salceda noted.

Citing the financial report from the Department of Budget and Management on Bayanihan 2 as of May 31, Salceda said over PHP18.4 billion in unobligated funds for critical pandemic response and recovery programs are about to expire.

The funds that will expire include PHP6.6 billion for laboratory testing and HRH, and about PHP873 million for contact tracing.

The President may call for a special session at any time, Salceda said, citing Article VI (Legislative Department), Section 15 of the Constitution.

“This was invoked in passing the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. The House and the Senate are also allowed by their respective rules to call for a special session without the President’s call,” Salceda said.

He further cited Section 86 of the Rules of the House stating that, “the House, if not in session, shall convene without need of a call within 24 hours following the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the occurrence of any national emergency”.

“We can do it as Congress, but it would really be better if the President calls for the special session instead,” he said.

Salceda said that considering the situation, the President’s concern for the emerging surge in cases, and the strategic importance of having a Senate bill certified as urgent by the President, action originating from the Executive branch would be a “stronger, more effective move”.

“This is a life-or-death decision for many provinces. We can’t afford a month without contact tracing or with reduced health capacity,” he added.