MANILA - A group of lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill seeking a P1.5-trillion spending package to stimulate the economy following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

The social amelioration cluster of the House Defeat COVID-19 Ad Hoc Committee (DCC) approved during an online meeting House Bill No. 6709 that proposes to establish a COVID-19 unemployment reduction economic stimulus (CURES) fund worth P1.5 trillion.

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the measure aims to increase public spending on infrastructure and provide emergency employment for workers displaced by the outbreak.

Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the bill targets the health, education, and agriculture sectors, and build local roads, infrastructure and livelihood.

Also included in the bill is a barangay emergency employment program for workers displaced by COVID-19 under the Labor Department's COVID-19 adjustment measures program or CAMP.

Besides CURES, another bill called PESA or the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act has been filed seeking to help workers and businesses deal with the effects of the pandemic.

- Report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News