MANILA – Senator Imee Marcos said the government should “throw much more money” for its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response as other countries spend as much as 20 percent of gross domestic product to mitigate impacts of the global health crisis.
Speaking at the fourth-quarter general membership meeting of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) Friday, Marcos said PHP750 billion should be the budget for Covid-19 response.
“My initial recommendation was, we should have had very early on PHP750 billion spent early on in Bayanihan 1. I mean, go big, go hard, and do it all the way,” said Marcos, who is also the chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs.
The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or the Bayanihan 1 has allowed the government to reallocate, realign, and reprogram almost PHP275 billion from the 2020 national budget to fund the government’s efforts to combat Covid-19.
The Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 was also passed by the Congress providing PHP165.5-billion budget, which include a PHP25-billion standby fund.
The new law aims to improve the country’s health care system, re-stimulate the affected sectors of the economy, and for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
But Marcos said a big portion of the Bayanihan 2 goes to banks for lending programs.
“But once again, the issue is the power to lend isn't the power to spend. We need to put money in the pockets of people, and this is happening worldwide,” she said.
Marcos said she recommended a Bayanihan 3 bill in the budget hearing early this week, as the current spending to mitigate the crisis is an “anemic response”.
“So what we need to do is start giving spending vouchers with the timeline to people, to consumers, to buy food, to buy digital equipment within a time frame so that we can ratchet up activity in the economy,” she added. (PNA)
