Economic team rolls out P27.1 billion relief package vs pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s Economic Development Cluster (EDC) is set to roll out a P27.1 billion program to help frontliners fight the coronavirus disease 2019  or COVID-19 and provide economic relief to sectors affected by the spread of the disease, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

Finance Secretary and EDC chairman Carlos Dominguez said the package includes initiatives which seek to better equip health workers and provide relief and recovery measures to individuals and sectors reeling from the adverse impact of the pandemic.

“This is designed to do two things: first is to ensure that funding is available for the efforts of the Department of Health to contain the spread of COVID-19. Second is to provide economic relief to those whose businesses and livelihoods have been affected by the spread of this disease,” Dominguez said.

“As directed by President Duterte, the government will provide targeted and direct programs to guarantee that benefits will go to our workers and other affected sectors. We have enough but limited resources, so our job is to make sure that we have sufficient funds for programs mitigating the adverse effects of COVID-19 on our economy,” he said.

Of the total package, the bulk or P14 billion will come from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) to help the Department of Tourism roll out various programs and projects to support the tourism sector, which has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

“So far, the hardest hit sector is tourism. TIEZA will spend P14 billion to prepare the industry for a rebound,” Dominguez said.

He said another P3.1 billion would be used for efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, including the acquisition of test kits. The funds came from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The finance chief said the government is still in the process of negotiating another $1 billion loan from a multilateral agency to augment this fund.

In addition, P2 billion will be set aside by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for social protection programs and wage subsidies or financial support to COVID-19 affected establishments and workers.

The Social Security System (SSS) will also mobilize P1.2 billion to provide unemployment benefits to displaced workers, while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also allocated P3 billion to provide training to them.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Credit Policy Council will earmark P2.8 billion for the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Aid Program, which provides loans of up to P25,000 each at zero interest for smallholder farmers and fisherfolk affected by calamity and disasters.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also allotted P1 billion for the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) Microfinancing special loan package of the Small Business Corp. (SBC) which will assist affected micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

“Also included is the DTI’s ongoing assistance in finding new supply sources and non-traditional markets for industries affected by supply chain disruptions and the conduct of trade and investment missions to support the continued operation of industry,” the DOF said.