Push Admin

Gatchalian says Senate ready to approve supplemental budget, stimulus packages for COVID-19

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJzG-5V8IAo?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>MANILA - The Senate is ready to approve a supplemental budget if needed to help health authorities respond to the new coronavirus disease outbreak, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.The funding will be different from stimulus measures aimed at shielding the economy from the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), Gatchalian said.The House Appropriations Committee approved on Tuesday a P1.6 billion supplemental budget for the Department of Health to cover the government&#x27;s needs to address the outbreak.&quot;If need be, if the Senate needs to be called to convene and to approve this, we are ready to approve the supplemental budget and also other stimulus packages because definitely our economy will be hard hit by this virus and we are forecasting a very slow growth in the first quarter,&quot; Gatchalian said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/10/20/coronavirus-covid19-philippines-supplemental-budget-house-of-representatives-appropriations-committee">House panel OKs supplemental budget for COVID-19 despite DBM refusal</a></li></ul>A stimulus package of P28 billion is needed for the tourism industry alone, said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture.The stimulus package should be available for the next 3 to 6 months and cascaded down to small and micro businesses, he said.&quot;We need a bridging stimulus program in order for this tourism industry players to survive,&quot; he said.The industry has reported billions of pesos in losses attributed to the coronavirus outbreak.Gatchalian said they are still conducting study on other sectors.

The Senate is ready to approve a supplemental budget if needed to help health authorities respond to the new coronavirus disease outbreak, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.

The Senate is ready to approve a supplemental budget if needed to help health authorities respond to the new coronavirus disease outbreak, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.