The revised bill, which has already cleared the House via voice vote, expands the scope of moratoriums and specifies the forms of financial aid, among other amendments
The House bill born out of the oil price shock driven by the crisis in the Middle East has cleared the deliberation stage in the lower chamber.
At its core, the Kalinga bill — short for “Komprehensibong Alalay Sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo at Goods Assistance” — outlines an emergency response framework. While the document has provisions on financial aid, ways and means chairman and sponsor Miro Quimbo insists it represents only less than 20% of the bill’s total scope.
The revised version, House Bill No. 9305, sets objective triggers that would allow the president to declare a state of national emergency in times of extraordinary oil price volatility, and grant him temporary powers on budget release and realignment, direct assistance, moratorium, and price stability, among others.
This latest version passed by the plenary on second reading on May 20 contains substantial changes from the original bill filed by Speaker Bojie Dy and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos.
