Despite an expanding war chest against the COVID-19 pandemic, the relief and stimulus packages provided for in Bayanihan 2 is pathetically meager.
This was expounded by opposition Rep. Edcel C. Lagman in the explanation of his affirmative vote with grave reservations to the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on Bayanihan 2.
The appropriation of the relief and stimulus packages in Bayanihan 2 is a minuscule P165.5 billion despite the expanding war chest of the Philippines to address the pandemic and with the country having the greatest number of Covid cases in Southeast Asia.
This is less than 60% of the P275 billion appropriation for Bayanihan 1 when the contagion started, and is only 12% of the P1.3 trillion appropriation for the ARISE (Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy) bill which the House has approved on third and final reading.
Much more sufficient appropriations are needed to provide social and economic relief to pandemic-affected citizens, and more adequate funds to redress all businesses devastated by Covid-19.
Suspiciously, the foreign grants and loans from multilaterals like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and International Investment and Infrastructure Bank (IIIB), as well as domestic borrowingsamounting to more than a trillion pesos raised by the Bureau of the Treasury have not been used as funding sources for Bayanihan 2, all amounting to over a trillion pesos.
Are these foreign and domestic borrowings also under lockdown?
Or are they reserved for some partisan enterprise?
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno on August 1, 2020 reported that foreign borrowings and grant assistance secured by the Philippine government for its anti-Covid 19 measures and to finance various projects reached $8.2-B as of end-June 2020.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez disclosed on August 15, 2020 that the World Bank will approve financing for another $1.9-B in projects for the Philippines before yearend to help the economy recover from the Covid-19 induced recession.
In addition to the released and committed foreign grants and loans, the Bureau of National Treasury has raised P1.2 trillion as of June 30, 2020. Moreover, auctions for the Premyo Bonds (Retail Treasury Bonds) have fetched P516.3 billion in early August, 2020 and more will be generated because new auctions are scheduled.
It must be reiterated that the foregoing funding sources for Bayanihan 2 do not include the available foreign and domestic borrowings, which could have adequately increased the relief and stimulus packages.
Likewise, the funding releases reported by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as of August 22, 2020, which amounted to P376.6-B in response to the health and socio-economic crisis caused by Covid-19, did not include as sources of the subject expenditures foreign and domestic borrowings.
It must be recalled that DBM has released P376-B in Covid response as of August 10. This means there will still be P1.468 trillion (P1.844 - 376) for Covid response.
We have contracted so much internal and external debt for our Covid response. It is bad enough that we will let our children and grandchildren be burdened by the principal and interest debt service payments that the loans entail. It will definitely be worse if they realize that they are shouldering payments for loans that were of little or no use to their parents and grandparents.
We have the financial resources. The urgent task is to mobilize them against the pandemic and the recession.
EDCEL C. LAGMAN