The Philippines: Bayanihan 2 extended till end of 2021

• The House of Representatives has approved a measure further extending the validity of Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 to give the government more time to implement measures and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• At 2 Jun 21’s plenary session, congressmen decided through voice voting to approve on second reading House Bill 9538, which seeks to extend the validity and effectivity of Bayanihan 2 under Republic Act 11494 until the end of 2021.
• The measure, which provides for social amelioration and economic stimulus packages, lapsed on 31 Dec 20 and was extended by Congress until 30 Jun 21 through RA 11519.
• HB 9538 was approved last week by the committee on appropriations chaired by ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap.
• Yap cited the need to extend the powers granted to the executive to effectively respond to the pandemic while the country continues to strive to control the spread of COVID-19 and obtain the needed herd immunity.
• ACT-CIS Rep. Niña Taduran, who sponsored the bill during the hearing, shared the same opinion and argued that the extension is necessary to address disbursement issues of implementing agencies.
• The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier revealed that it had already released the funds allocated for Bayanihan 2 to all the implementing agencies covered by the measure.
• But the DBM reported a 51.06% obligation rate and 70.34% disbursement rate among agencies which received Bayanihan 2 funding as of Apr 21.

External Link : https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/06/03/2102729/bayanihan-2-extended-till-end-year