By CARLOS MANINGAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — The House of Representatives is set to approve on final reading the Bayanihan 3 bill, which proponents describe as a “lifeline measure.” But unlike previous Bayanihan installments, the third installment lacks the seal of approval from Malacañang – making its enactment before Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July impossible.
So why would we even consider supporting a measure that would hit a wall once Congress adjourns sine die on June 2?
The consolidated Bayanihan 3 (HB 9411), also known as “Bayanihan to Arise As One”, is mainly based on the P420-billion (US$8.79 billion) stimulus bill (HB 8628) filed last February by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo.
Velasco and Quimbo’s bill was later consolidated with the P10k Ayuda bill (HB 9089) and comprehensive COVID-19 and crisis response bill or SHIELD bill (HB 7620) of the Makabayan bloc, as well as with Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano’s P10k ($209) cash aid bill. In the end, Bayanihan 3 more or less mirrored Velasco’s proposal.
With practically all House members – except Duterte’s son and a few die-hard Duterte lawmakers – co-authoring the measure, Bayanihan 3 brags the unprecedented and massive support of different lawmakers who crossed party lines. The political reasons are obvious, but on one hand, such a move in the House sans Palace nod says a lot about Duterte’s deliberate neglect of calls for cash aid.
From the original P420-billion funding requirement, the total cost of Bayanihan 3 was trimmed to P405 billion at the committee level and finally to P401 billion after its approval on second reading. Despite the reductions, it is still way bigger than Bayanihan 1 and 2. Unlike the previous Bayanihan measures, the third measure also mainly focuses on social amelioration programs.
Big packaging, paltry on the inside
But the P401-billion price tag may not accurately portray the cash disbursements under the measure, as the total amount is spread across phases which are mostly pegged on “standby funds.”
This means that more than half of the funds for Bayanihan 3 are still nowhere to be found and have yet to be generated.
Under Bayanihan 3’s P216-billion “Ayuda for All Filipinos,” every living Filipino, whether rich or poor, would be provided a measly P1,000 ($21) cash assistance (although there is an opt-out clause). A second tranche worth also P1,000 for each Filipino would be disbursed after three months but only after funds have been raised for such. This means that only half of the program’s cost (P108 billion) would have guaranteed appropriations.
The measure also has a cash aid provision for households under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or similar or stricter quarantine classifications, with the assistance ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 ($105-$167) per household.
Twenty-five billion is allotted under various programs of the Department of Labor and Employment to assist displaced and disadvantaged workers, although P15 billion ($314 million) of this amount would be standby funds.
The latest B3 version also allocates P4.5 billion ($94.2 million) for education-related subsidies – a far cry from the original P30-billion ($628 million) support for teachers and students in private and public schools contained in HB 8628.
The Makabayan bloc sought to double the size of the stimulus measure to cover the demands for P10,000 ($209)cash aid for each Filipino family, P100 ($2) daily wage subsidy for workers, P15,000 ($314) production subsidy for farmers, and allowances for teachers and students. However, the proposed amendments were rejected at the plenary.
‘Rider provision’ for military and police pension
Meanwhile, P54.6 billion ($1.14 billion) in programmed appropriations for the pension and gratuity of retired uniformed personnel has been kept intact – making pension for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police pension the second biggest item in Bayanihan 3.
In a sense, B3 authors really meant “ayuda for all” to include even the ranks of retired military and police personnel in what is supposedly a lifeline measure.
This is presumably part of the haggling done by the Velasco camp to appease Duterte’s military-filled Cabinet and sections of the AFP and the PNP. It was also designed to make the Palace rejection of Bayanihan 3 an issue in the eyes of the retired generals.
Biggest stumbling block
Despite the paltry aid and big insertions for the military and police contained in Bayanihan 3, President Duterte still remains cold to the proposal as he has repeatedly cited the supposed lack of funds.
The Bayanihan 3 bill still has yet to secure a certificate of available funds from the Bureau of Treasury. But Albay Rep. Joey Salceda argued that the measure already meets the constitutional requirement, saying that the bill itself has identified sources of funding.
The sources of funds include BSP provisional cash advances, which could amount up to P294.8 billion ($6.17 billion) based on Salceda’s estimate, and P78 billion ($1.63 billion) from increased mandatory remittances from government-owned and –controlled corporations (GOCCs). The President can also draw up unused amounts from Bayanihan 1 and 2, which is equal to P217 billion ($4.54 billion) as of April 15. All these would be more than enough for the P401-billion budgetary requirement of B3.
If the Lower House approves the measure on final reading, then the Senate must be pushed to come up with a better version that will reflect the demands of various sectors for significant cash aid. Clearly, Bayanihan 3 must be upsized. And for it to be upsized, it must advance. 
