Duterte Granted Special Covid-19 Powers

‘Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’ allows the President to exercise powers for 3 months

Congress approved early Tuesday morning a measure granting President Duterte special powers to address the fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has infected over 500 persons in the country.

Voting 12-0, senators approved Senate Bill No. 1418 – the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020” – during a special session that started Monday and ended in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Senate Bill No. 1418, a substitute for Senate Bill No. 1413, was sponsored by Senator Pia Cayetano, vice chair of the Senate finance committee. The measure is a substitution of Senate Bill No. 1413, earlier filed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Cayetano.

The House of Representatives immediately adopted the 4 Senate version of the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020” before adjourning at 3:24 a.m.

With the House's adoption of the Senate version, there is no longer any need to call a bicameral conference committee as there is no longer anything to reconcile. The bill is expected to be forwarded immediately to Malacañang for President Duterte's signature.

House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez moved “to adopt Senate Bill No. 1418 as an amendment to House Bill No. 6616, which congressmen had passed before Monday midnight.

“We have been informed that House Bill 6616 is in concurrence with the provisions of Senate Bill 1418. In accordance with the rules, I move to adopt Senate Bill 1418 as an amendment to HB 6616,” Romualdez told the plenary.

State of emergency

Senate Bill 1418 also places the whole country under a state of national emergency. It also gives the President special powers for three months, “unless extended by Congress.”