THE congressional bicameral conference committee will submit to President Duterte before the end of the month the final version of the Bayanihan to Recover as One or the Bayanihan 2 for its target implementation in September, leaders of the House of Representatives said on Thursday.
Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte made a statement as the bicameral committee is set to wrap up its meetings this week.
According to Villafuerte, the government is targeting to implement the Bayanihan 2 in September. The measure seeks to arm President Duterte with continued special powers and funds to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Congress is targeting to ratify the Bayanihan II this Tuesday. After the ratification by both houses, the bill will be immediately transmitted to Duterte for signature.
Meanwhile, leaders of the House of Representatives also on Thursday said the P10-billion allocation for the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), could generate P35 billion in economic activity for the tourism sector.
House Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability Chairman Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado said the tourism industry can look forward to the long-term benefits from the P10-billion fund allocated to the Tieza under the proposed P162-billion Bayanihan to Recover as One.
The Senate version, with a total P140 billion in funding, puts the controversial P10-billion fund directly under DOT, not under Tieza, and focuses on helping Covid-impacted tourism enterprises instead of pouring this into infrastructure, like the House version.
In a statement, Sy-Alvarado said the fund under Tieza “will unlock development in the tourism industry by boosting infrastructure and providing establishments the opportunity to work on tourist sites often neglected and lacking in facilities, such as access roads, restrooms and accommodation facilities.”
He said the pending bill provides the mechanisms on how tourism enterprises can avail themselves of the credit facilities through government financial institutions (GFIs).
Bayanihan 2 provides P51 billion to GFIs with the following breakdown: P5 billion for the credit guarantee program of the Philippine Guarantee Corporation; P30 billion and P15 billion to support banking facilities and equity infusion of the LBP and the DBP, respectively; and P1 billion as additional funding for the Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) Program of the Small Business Corporation and for its other lending programs to be extended to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We value the tourism industry as much as we value all other sectors in the country, which is why aside from the P10-billion fund allocated for tourism infrastructure, we also allocated P51 billion to GFIs that can easily provide access to credit and loan programs to MSMEs, including small-scale tourism-oriented enterprises accredited by local government units,” Sy-Alvarado said.
Access
Also, Villafuerte assured tourism stakeholders that Bayanihan 2 will allow tourism enterprises, including small-scale tourism-oriented enterprises accredited by local government units, to avail themselves of much-needed assistance through various credit facilities.
“We are fully aware of the problems confronting the tourism industry, including the losses that they have incurred since the start of the travel restrictions early this year,” the Bicol lawmaker said.
“It should not be a choice between tourism infrastructure and additional working capital. Both will play equal importance in the recovery efforts of the sector. Thus, we included provisions to fulfill both requirements,” he added.
‘Not allowed’
Villafuerte explained that the House rejected the proposal of Tourism Congress of the Philippines president Jose Clemente III to provide “bailouts” or doles directly to private firms in the tourism sector as this is not allowed under the law.
Clemente’s proposal was backed by Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo Puyat.
“First of all, doleouts to private firms are not allowed. These can only be done for workers, that’s why we have the TUPAD [Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers] of the Department of Labor and Employment, the funds for Tesda [Technical Education and Skills Development Authority] and the cash-for-work programs,” said Villafuerte in an interview.
Moreover, he said the House version of Bayanihan 2 bill provides a P20-billion allocation for cash-for-work programs, P1 billion for the scholarship funds of Tesda, and another P100 million for the training of, and subsidies to, tourist guides.
Villafuerte explained that the bailout that Clemente wanted was already included in the P51-billion capital provided to government financial institutions, given that neither the Department of Tourism nor Tieza can officially lend money or grant doles to private firms in the tourism industry.
Villafuerte said Clemente has claimed that the Senate version provided direct funding support to the tourism sector in the sum of P10 billion, which the House had “realigned” instead to Tieza’s infra projects.
The lawmaker, however, made it clear that no “realignment” took place because the final version of the Bayanihan bill has not yet been approved.
Villafuerte also noted that the Senate’s P10 billion in funding support for the tourism sector was also in the form of loans and not “bailouts.”
“I was sad to learn that some stakeholders in the tourism sector are saying that we do not need infrastructure at the moment. Perhaps those who are saying this are those in Cebu or in other areas with relatively good infrastructure and airports. How about the areas with poor infrastructure?” Villafuerte said.
“Other countries in the region cannot compete when it comes to the beauty of our beaches and other tourism sites. But they attract more tourists each year than the Philippines because they have better infrastructure,” he added.
Defending the proposed Bayanihan 2 Act, Sy-Alvarado said that while the P10-billion supposed “working capital” for the programs of the DOT was diverted to Tieza, credit and loan programs for tourism stakeholders will still be accessible through the assistance of GFIs such as the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Sy-Alvarado said the House of Representatives will maintain close relations with the DOT, Tieza and tourism stakeholders in the crafting of programs to support the tourism industry’s recovery and the overall recovery of the national economy.
Impact
Villafuerte said there is a need to expedite the building of tourism infrastructure projects while tourist destinations are not yet fully operational because of the pandemic.
Villafuerte said every P1 spent on infrastructure will have a multiplier effect of 3.5, which means that the P10 billion for Tieza under the House version of the Bayanihan 2 bill would pump in around P35 billion into the tourism sector and economy.
He noted that even prior to the health crisis, many tourism sites have had inadequate comfort room facilities, inaccessible roads networks, and poor accommodation facilities.
“Bayanihan 2 is just the initial stimulus outlay for the recovery of the tourism sector as there would be further allocations for the DOT and the tourism industry in the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2021,” he said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes