Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned as “band-aid solutions” announcements of new emergency relief bills in Congress in light of US-Israel aggression in West Asia.
Bayan in a statement said laws proposing relief for Filipinos intensely suffering from the effects of the war are merely posturing for the next elections.
Senator Loren Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2020 this week she said is “a comprehensive emergency measure to shield Filipinos from the ongoing global oil crisis brought by the Middle East hostilities.”
If approved, the measure creates a law similar to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of National Energy Emergency issued last March 24, also giving the national government limited powers to address fuel and electricity costs as well as prices of food and important commodities
The proposal also provides the Philippine government authority to intervene in the country’s energy sector to prevent supply disruptions.
Bayanihan 3 is based on similar laws passed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The House of Representatives (HoR) also announced plans of passing a similar law.
HoR Ways and Means Committee chairperson Miro Quimbo said representatives are set to hold joint committee hearings beginning today to come up with a “comprehensive legislative response” to the effects of the US-Israel-War.
Bayan however said the executive branch of the government already has enough powers to give real and immediate relief to Filipinos severely impacted by runaway fuel prices and impending hyperinflation.
“[B]oth houses of Congress should focus on alleviating the people’s suffering amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia instead of legislating band-aid measures that boost patronage,” it said in a statement.
Bayan pointed out that both Houses of Congress has offered President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the power to suspend excise taxes on fuel prices, which the latter has refused to exercise, instead offering one-time fuel subsidies that are only two days worth of fuel expenses.
The group also cautioned against insertions of pork barrel programs in the national budget while allowing Malacañang to sign anomalous contracts under the guise of crisis response. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
