MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos said Sunday that "good Samaritans" responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through their donations should be accorded "tax benefits" by the government.

Marcos has filed Senate Bill 1429, which seeks to "cut out the red tape" of applying with the Department of Finance (DOF) for certificates of tax exemption on donations by institutionalizing "full tax benefits for donors."

"Scrapping the donor’s tax and making the value of donations deductible from income tax will boost the country’s efforts to save frontliners and more lives during calamities... This bill means to encourage the bayanihan spirit inherent in us Filipinos and not burden our generosity with taxes," said Marcos in a statement.

Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on economic affairs, argued that "a new world is emerging" that demands "new ways" for people's survival.

Under the bill, donations made from January 2020 and until the duration of the government-declared state of calamity will enjoy tax benefits.

Marcos earlier said the government should consider suspending debt payments so it can fund the COVID-19 social amelioration program. The DOF rejected the proposal.

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As of Sunday, the Philippines has recorded 6,259 COVID-19 cases, 409 of whom have succumbed to the disease while 572 have recovered.