President Rodrigo Duterte has certified as urgent bills extending the validity of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2) and the 2020 national budget.

This was announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday, December 14, as Duterte was scheduled to preside over a Cabinet meeting.

Senate President Vicente Sotto II confirmed that the upper chamber received the certification documents from the Palace.

Bayanihan 2, a bill that gave Duterte more time with special powers to address the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to expire on December 19 or 5 days from now.

Bayanihan 2 gives the Duterte government P165.5 billion for programs to help the country’s economic recovery, pay for more coronavirus testing and contact tracing, and provide assistance to health frontliners.

The House of Representatives acted fast on the President’s directive. The committee on appropriations hastily called a virtual meeting among its members at 7 pm on Monday to pass House Bill (HB) No. 8063, which would extend the validity of funds under Bayanihan 2 until June 30, 2021.

The measure, however, does not have any specific provisions that would allow Duterte to continue exercising his special powers beyond December 19.

HB 8063 was immediately sent to the House plenary for its final two readings. The chamber approved the bill on final reading at around 9:45 pm.

Extending 2020 budget

The pandemic has also been cited by lawmakers as reason for extending the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Extending this year’s budget means the government can continue spending what remains of the P4.1 trillion budget. In the bill filed by Senator Imee Marcos, this would be possible until December 31, 2021, or 3 months before the start of the campaign season for the 2022 national elections.

The House of Representatives has already approved its counterpart bill.

Voting 221-6-0, lawmakers approved House Bill No. 6656 on 3rd and final reading, with only the progressive Makabayan legislators dissenting.

The bill would extend the validity of the current 2020 budget until December 31, 2021. It would also authorize the budget department to issue Special Allotment Release Orders for infrastructure projects that have already undergone their procurement process in 2020.

Marcos said the extension was needed because the pandemic had delayed many government programs and, thus, the expenditures for them.

Due to the cash-based budgeting system being implemented by the executive branch, the 2020 budget is set to expire when the year ends. This means all the unspent funds would revert to the treasury unless its validity is extended.

This is not the first time in the Duterte presidency that a government budget would be extended for another year.

In 2019, Congress had also extended the validity of that year’s budget to end of 2020 because its passage had gotten delayed by tussles in the House of Representatives. – with reports from Mara Cepeda and JC Gotinga/Rappler.com