(Eagle News) — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the P1.5-trillion COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) bill.
With 210 affirmative votes, seven negative votes, and no abstention, the House gave the green light to House Bill 6920 that aims to fund infrastructure projects prioritizing five sectors: health, education, agriculture, local roads and livelihood.
The five sectors are deemed the most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the measure, if passed into law, P500 billion shall be appropriated for this for each of the three fiscal years.
The passage of the bill came after the Philippine Statistics Authority reported what it said was a record-high 17.7 percent unemployment rate in the country in April.
The Department of Labor and Employment had expressed optimism the labor market would recover with the resumption of economic activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the House also approved a P1.3 trillion economic stimulus package, the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines (ARISE) bill, which includes funds for COVID-19 testing.
