Drilon: Recalibrate 2021 budget instead of passing 'Bayanihan 3'

November 13 ------ Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Thursday said recalibrating the 2021 national budget is better than crafting another economic stimulus package or a third Bayanihan law to ensure sufficient funding for COVID-19 response efforts. "A Bayanihan 3 makes no sense. None at all. Bayanihan 2 is still effective up to December 19, and a substantial portion of the funds have not been released, and funded programs and projects have not been implemented," Drilon said in a message.

"The 2021 budget will be effective January 1, 2021. Clearly, no sense for Bayanihan 3. We must recalibrate the 2021 budget to have more funds—effective January 1, 2021—for COVID-19 vaccines, calamities, for the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and other social services," he added. Drilon stood firm that the P19 billion anti-insurgency fund and around P9 billion intelligence and confidential funds must be realigned to make the national budget more responsive to the needs of the public. Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, is open to having a Bayanihan 3 "if the General Appropriations Act cannot address the concerns."

In March, Congress crafted the Bayanihan to Heal as One which paved the way for the realignment of available government funds and provision of emergency cash aid to 18 million poor households that took the brunt of COVID-19 lockdowns. President Rodrigo Duterte signed another economic stimulus package in September, which aims to provide relief to various sectors bogged down by the pandemic—the P165-billion Bayanihan to Recover as One Act. As of the first week of November, Duterte said P76.2 billion from Bayanihan 2 has already been released to different government agencies.

During the budget debates in the Senate on Wednesday, Senate Finance Committee chairperson Sonny Angara mentioned that House leaders "feel strongly about having another stimulus package" or Bayanihan 3 but the opinion of the administration's economic team on the matter has not been sought yet. "That’s very preliminary, just the opinion of some House leaders. More pressing than that is the possible need to extend the validity or effectivity of the Bayanihan 2 law which expires December 19," Angara said in a message on Thursday.

Last month, the senators previously lamented the Department of Budget and Management's slow release of Bayanihan 2 funds to implementing government agencies. Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado defended the disbursement process and stressed that the DBM is not delaying the release of funds.

Source: gmanetwork.com