(Eagle News)–The Department of Transportation is pushing for the urgent passage of the proposed Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 to help workers, including those in the transport sector, affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
According to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, the economic stimulus package will be of great help to stakeholders such as PUV drivers and operators, airline employees, maritime workers, and airline as well as shipping companies, who were the hardest hit as quarantine measures were put in place to curb the spread of the virus.
All forms of public mass transportation in areas declared under an enhanced community quarantine and modified enhanced community quarantine were suspended.
“A stimulus package will help ease some of their burdens imposed by this health crisis. An economic stimulus package could help them restructure existing loans and even avail of needed immediate assistance,” Tugade said.
If the bill is passed into law, the government will earmark P1.3 trillion as the post-COVID-19 economic stimulus package.
The amount includes a budget of P650 billion for an expanded infrastructure program for healthcare, education, and food security.
The country’s transportation sector will on the other hand get an allocation of P70 billion.
The proposed stimulus package also aims to provide transport operators with new loan facilities to cover expenses for fuel, manpower, garage lease and other operating and capital expenses.
“This includes intervention for the restructuring of existing loans of bus operators with private banks for the modernization of their fleet during the duration of the general community quarantine (GCQ) period,” the DOTr said.
The economic stimulus package under PESA has been the subject of consultations and hearings under the House committees on economic affairs, and trade and industry.
The PESA bill is a consolidation of the proposals of Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo.