Fifteen civil society groups urged government leaders to quit passing the buck on Bayanihan 3 and instead immediately convene a special session to pass the measure, which they said can be funded by reallocating P544 billion from other sources.
They expressed their disappointment over the government’s lack of urgency, pointing out that the officials are “waiting on one another to convene a special session” and even decided to postpone debates to July 26, as if the country is not in the middle of the pandemic.
They said Bayanihan 3 would be a “lifeline for millions of Filipinos who have lost their jobs and have been tipped into extreme poverty, especially in the current COVID-19 surge areas in South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.”
Apart from providing funds for ayuda, the groups said Bayanihan 3 could be an opportunity to use the remaining P18 billion in unspent funds under Bayanihan 2.
“Despite this urgency, the bill is in limbo because our leaders keep passing the buck about the issue of available funding,” the groups said in a statement. “Why do our leaders fiddle while our people burn? Have our leaders lost touch with the grim reality our people face? Do our leaders know that for each second that they pass the buck, countless Filipinos — the citizens they have sworn to serve — are getting sick, starving, or dying? Is this what our leaders want us voters to remember in 2022?”
The groups argued that there is a total of P544 billion in funding sources under the 2021 national budget that the government can tap to fund Bayanihan 3.
The possible funding sources , which they said can be reallocated in whole or in part, are the following:
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-Osec) – Local Program – P280,623,791,000
- DPWH (DPWH-Osec) – Network Development Program – P124,464,283,000
- DPWH (DPWH-Osec) – Convergence and Special Support Program – P62,148,275,000
- Department of National Defense (General Headquarters, AFP and AFP-Wide Service Support Units (AFPWSSUs)) – AFP Modernization Sub-Program – P27,000,000,000
- Department of Transportation (DOTr-OSec) – North-South Commuter Railway System – P21,128,966,000
- Contingent Fund – Contingent Fund – Total New Appropriations – P13,000,000,000
- DOTr (DOTr-OSec) – Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1 – P11,150,022,000
- Office of the President (The President’s Offices) – Confidential Funds – P2,250,000,000
- OP (The President’s Offices) – Intelligence Funds – P2,250,000,000
The groups also called on the economic managers and members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee to set a higher spending and borrowing program.
“Since not all the line items above will be reallocated at this point in the year, some of the Bayanihan 3 requirements need to be funded by borrowing. We are not cash-strapped. We have the capacity to raise cash at home. We are not dependent on external sources. [Finance] Secretary [Carlos] Dominguez himself said our debt level is high but sustainable,” they said.
They also called on the government to boost its spending program for the country’s pandemic response and recovery, noting even the International Monetary Fund pointed out that the Philippines is spending little compared to its neighbors although it has fiscal space to fund recovery programs.
“Extraordinary spending is needed in our country’s worst crisis since the Second World War, but our government spending for coronavirus response and recovery from Bayanihan 1 and 2 is tiny: It is just a measly 3.3% of GDP, of which only 2.7% of GDP is reported spent. No wonder we are recovering so slowly and suffering so deeply,” they said.
Those who signed the statement include Citizens’ Budget Tracker (CBT); Institute for Leadership, Empowerment, and Democracy (iLEAD); Action for Economic Reforms (AER); AltMobility PH; Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) Student Council; Bagumbayani Initiative; COVID-19 Action Network (CAN) Philippines; Move As One Coalition; Movement for Good Governance (MGG); National Confederation of Transportworkers Union (NCTU); Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK); PSLINK: Consolidated Council of Health and Allied Professions; PUBLIK National Public Workers’ Congress (PUBLIK); Saliksining Devising Lab; Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO); Maoi Arroyo; and Maia Agnes Dapul.
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