MANILA, Philippines — The bicameral conference committee on Thursday approved the reconciled version of the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 bill, Senator Sonny Angara said. The Bayanihan 2 bill, seen to replace the expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, lays out for the country’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan and allocates funds to help struggling sectors cope with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism aid ‘intact’Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee, said the assistance for the tourism industry and its stakeholders remains “intact and preserved” under the reconciled version of the Bayanihan 2. Prior to the approval of the measure’s reconciled version, one of the contentious provisions under the Bayanihan 2 was the P10-billion funding for the tourism sector, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in an earlier radio interview. “Tourism sector got [P10 billion],” he said in a message to reporters.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer August 20, 2020 04:36 UTC