AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin on Wednesday, May 26, said the House of Representatives is pushing for a third round of COVID-19 relief package because Filipinos badly need it.
“There is a rush to finish this because the people need it,” Garin said in a press statement, referring to the proposed P401-billion Bayanihan to Arise as One Act, or Bayanihan 3, which the House approved on second reading on Tuesday night, May 25.
Now authored by almost all 300 House lawmakers led by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Bayanihan 3 is considered a lifeline for the country’s economy which has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is the first time I’ve seen that one bill has two pages of authors, I think 297 or 298. That’s 99 percent of the members of the House,” Garin said during the weekly Ugnayan sa Batasan news forum.
“That’s a huge statement from the House of Representatives. We want Bayanihan 3,” added Garin, who chairs the House Committee on Economic Affairs.
Meanwhile, Garin said the House economic cluster continues its firm resolve to help the country recover from the pandemic.
“We’ve always been consistent that we need to address the contraction. How do we recover from COVID?” she said.
Garin cited the economic measures passed by the House, such as the CREATE bill, the amendments to Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, which are most vital in the country’s road to recovery.
“It will help us kasi nalulugi ang marami. We need more investors. We are trying to push for more investments, not only Filipino investments, but also foreign investments,” Garin said.
The party-list lawmaker said that the Bayanihan 3 budget will have significant effect to reduce the contraction on the country’s GDP.
“Kailangan talaga natin ng Bayanihan 3, kasi when the government spends, the multiplier effect from that is really significant. For some way, it will ease the contraction,” Garin said.
She also addressed concerns that the Bayanihan 3 is not included in the priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council or LEDAC.
“We have been meeting with the Executive consistently about Bayanihan 3. I don’t think it’s not that they don’t want it, it’s just that we have to arrive with the right programs that we want implemented,” she pointed out.
