President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday signed into law the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) which provides for a P165 billion COVID-19 relief package.
The bulk of the relief measure covers a P140 billion aid package for industries negatively impacted by the pandemic. A standby fund of P25.52 billion may be tapped by the government for additional COVID-related expenses before the 2021 budget takes effect.
The measure includes cash for work and involuntary separation pay (P13 billion), loans for farmers (P24 billion), funding for government financial institutions that will extend soft loans to affected sectors (P39.47 billion), and funding for health-related response (P13.5 billion), among others.
The law also provides for an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 for qualified low-income households in areas under granular lockdown as well as households of displaced overseas Filipino workers who were repatriated to the country.
Last week, an opposition lawmaker criticized Duterte for sitting on the enactment of the Bayanihan 2.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the enrolled copy of the bill was received by the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office on Aug. 27 for transmittal to the President.
More riders allowed in public transportation
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved the proposal to increase the number of riders allowed in public transportation by optimizing or reducing the physical distance between commuters.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the Economic Development Cluster (EDC) and department’s proposal got the approval and support of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, led by National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. and the IATF.
“There is a need to safely optimize the carrying capacity of the various public transport modes as Metro Manila and its adjacent areas continue with the transition towards the ‘new normal’ where more workers are expected to return to their re-opened workplaces and more businesses are expected to resume operations that were stopped during the enforcement of strict quarantine measures,” Tugade said.
Hotels can take in more guests
Hotels can now accept more guests under the “specialized programs” of the Department of Tourism as the Philippines restarts domestic travel.
The government’s pandemic task force has expanded allowed guests in hotels to include “markets of specialized programs” of the tourism department according to a Sept. 10 resolution.
What those programs are and how many guests will be accommodated were not specified.
Since the lockdowns started in March, hotels were limited to accepting health workers, overseas Filipino workers, stranded foreigners, and guests with long-term bookings.
4,040 new COVID-19 cases logged
The Philippines recorded 4,040 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally of cases to 252,964, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
Most of the new cases reported came from the National Capital Region with 1,813, followed by Cavite with 435, Rizal with 218, Bulacan with 195, and Laguna with 171.
The DOH reported 42 new fatalities, bringing the total death toll from COVID-19 to 4,108.
The department also announced 566 new recoveries, bringing to 186,606 the total number of patients who have recovered from the disease.
There are now 62,250 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, of which 88.8 percent are mild, 8.4 percent are asymptomatic, 1.1 percent are severe, and 1.7 percent are in critical condition.
New home quarantine rules coming
The government will release a new home quarantine policy possibly by next week, the DOH said on Friday.
Government officials said home quarantine has contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in communities.
“Maybe next week we’ll have a more accurate and more complete decision including the policy on home quarantine,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a virtual briefing.
Vergeire said the country already has existing protocols, but these are being reviewed.
She added that the observations about the failure of home quarantine in certain cases are valid.