NABABAHALA si Senador Joel Villanueva sa hindi pa rin nailalabas na P3 bilyong pondo para sa mga state university and college sa ilalim ng Bayanihan to Recover As One Act o Bayanihan 2.

Layon ng P3 bilyon pondo na matulungan ang SUCs sa pagbuo ng smart campuses, lalo ngayong isinusulong ang blended learning sa gitna ng Covid19 pandemic.

“I’m also very passionate with our SUCs,  education sector because again the P3 billion Bayanihan fund is our initiative, we have been very passionate about this, still unreleased, it’s still not being implemented,” pahayag ni Villanueva.

Ipinaalala ng senador na hanggang December 31 lamang ang effectivity ng Bayanihan 2 o mahigit dalawang buwan na lang ang bisa ng batas.

Bukod sa pondo sa SUCs, natuklasan ng mga senador na hindi pa rin  nailalabas ang pondo para sa ayuda sa mga manggagawa at negosyo sa tourism at agricultural sectors.

Positibo si Villanueva na sa mga susunod na araw ay pagpapaliwanagin ng mga senador ang Department of Budget and Management kung bakit hindi pa rin nailalabas ang pondo.

Para kina Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon at Senador Ralph Recto, hindi katanggap-tanggap ang mabagal na pagpapalabas ng pondo gayong minadali nila ang pagpasa ng batas.

“Deplorable and inexcusable. When we were crafting Bayanihan 2, we stayed within the budget ceiling imposed by the DOF. So why are there no releases? Are the funds to back up the appro-priations under Bayanihan 2 not available?” diin ni Drilon.

“It’s unfortunate, we spent many hours and days crafting Bayanihan 2 which was certified as ur-gent to assist many sectors of society much affected by the pandemic only to be informed they are not ready to implement the same,” pahayag naman ni Recto.

Magkakontra naman sina Drilon at Recto sa posibilidad na magpasa  ng panibagong batas upang palawigin ang bisa ng Bayanihan 2.

“I will oppose any extension of Bayanihan 2. Note that this is an emergency measure granting the President extra powers which,  under the Constitution, will expire upon the next adjournment of Congress on Dec 19.  Any extension can be questioned as being contrary to the Constitution. Note also that after Bayanihan’s expiration on Dec 19, 2020, the 2021 GAA becomes effective 12 days after. So why extend it? DBM should release the funds appropriated before Dec 19,” paliwanag ni Drilon.

“Yes, we probably will have to extend validity of Bayanihan 2,” giit naman ni Recto.