The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 on Tuesday expressed its gratitude to both houses of Congress for ratifying the bicameral committee report on the proposed Bayanihan to Recover As One Act and recognizing the urgent need to implement measures and programs that will mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
“The swift action of Congress is a testament to the Whole-of-Nation approach needed to fight COVID-19. The Bayanihan to Recover As One Act will greatly benefit the nation, especially sectors severely affected by this health crisis,” said NTF Chairman and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
“We thank our leaders in Congress, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, as well as chairpersons Senator Sonny Angara and Deputy Speaker Luis Raymond Villafuerte Jr. for shepherding this very important measure. Truly by working together, we will recover as one,” Lorenzana added.
National Action Plan (NAP) Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act is critical to ramp up the implementation of the NAP. Phase II of the National Plan is anchored on the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) Strategy of the government.
Galvez noted that in the recently ratified bicam report, Congress allotted Php3 billion for the procurement of face masks, personal protective equipment, shoe covers and face shields; Php5 billion to finance the hiring of at least 50,000 contact tracers to be implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Government; and Php4.5 billion for the construction and maintenance of isolation facilities including billing of hotels, food and transportation, among others.
“The support of Congress will strengthen the national government’s pandemic response efforts in balancing the health of the people and the recovery of our economy” said Galvez.
Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon added that the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act also provides a Php10 billion standby fund for COVID-19 testing and procurement of COVID-19 medication and vaccine.
“Congress’ approval of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act will help us further ramp up our testing capacity nationwide. The first Bayanihan law allowed us to strengthen our testing efforts, with the Philippines now at the top in conducting the most number of COVID-19 tests compared to our Southeast Asian neighbors,” Dizon said.
More than 2 million individuals have already been tested for COVID-19 as of August 22. The government targets to test a total of 10 million Filipinos by June next year.