Senate President Vicente Sotto has proposed an “economic stimulus strategy” worth at least P548 billion to help the Philippines recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s social and economic impacts.
Sotto yesterday disclosed that he has filed Senate Bill No. 1542 proposing a stimulus program to “restore economic growth, maintain employment levels, and expand the productive capacity of the country” in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“To offset and mitigate the damages that COVID-19 brought to our country, measures should be put in place through legislative enactments. Since the intent of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act is to cushion the effects of COVID-19 to the country’s health system and to its citizens, it did not cover the economic effect of this pandemic,” Sotto said.
Sotto said the salient features of his 53-page bill include an “immediate and mandatory” mass testing for COVID-19, which covers health workers, close contacts of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, and “everyone” in communities that recorded the highest rate of the coronavirus transmission.
Under the proposal, testing kits shall be made available to government agencies and local government units, as well as private institutions.
It also seeks to “expand” the wage subsidies and temporary employment programs for informal sector workers, non-essential businesses, freelancers, self-employed, and repatriated overseas Filipino workers.
The tertiary education subsidy provided under Republic Act 10931 shall also be expanded to cover all students whose families are now facing financial difficulties due to the various community quarantines and waiving of registration and other related fees.
A “Special Interest-Free Loan Fund” shall also be allocated for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Sotto likewise wants the Department of Tourism and its sub-agencies to assist critically impacted DoT-accredited tourism enterprises. (Vanne Terrazola)
