MANILA - The House of Representatives has started plenary deliberations on the P568-billion economic stimulus package that the government needs for the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

House Bill 6815 was sponsored by Reps. Stella Luz Quimbo, Joey Sarte Salceda, and Sharon Garin.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman was the lone interpellator during the deliberation on Tuesday.

"And facing the biggest economic catastrophe of our lifetime, Congress must not sit idly by and allow this virus to kill our people and destroy our economy. The PESA bill seeks to re-start the economy, revive business and consumer confidence, ensure business continuity, reverse unemployment trends, and re-direct the economy towards a more resilient path," Quimbo said.

Quimbo also said the bill proposes to fund massive testing for COVID-19 as part of a proper disease surveillance protocol, including the enforcement of minimum health standards in the workplace.

“To address businesses’ liquidity concerns, we propose transitional measures such as wage subsidies, interest-free loans, loan guarantees, grants to assist businesses to cope in the post-COVID world, and regulatory relief and policy interventions that will ease the burden of re-starting, especially for small businesses. To address the longer-term loss of demand in industries like tourism, trade, and transport, we propose sectoral programs that will tide them over so they can continue to significantly contribute to GDP and perform their function as the pillars of inclusive long-run growth," she said.

The plenary also began debates on House Bill 6816, or "An Act Ensuring Philippine Financial Industry Resilience Against The COVID-19 Pandemic" sponsored by House Committee on Banks Chair Junie Cua.