Philippine Congress approves national emergency declaration

The bill authorises the president to launch a massive aid programme for 18 million families and tap private hospitals and ships in fighting the pandemic

The Senate and the House of Representatives both held emergency sessions on Monday and worked beyond midnight to deliberate the bill

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A man wearing a protective mask walks beside a poster of American WWII icon Rosie the Riveter at the Quezon city hall in the Philippines. Photo: AP

Published: 11:06pm, 24 Mar 2020Updated: 1:17am, 25 Mar 2020

The Philippine Congress on Tuesday approved a bill declaring a national emergency and authorising the president to launch a massive aid programme for 18 million families and tap private hospitals and ships in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

President Rodrigo Duterte can reapportion the executive department’s budget under the legislation, which will also punish people disobeying quarantine orders and spreading “false information” about the outbreak, legislators said. The state of national emergency will last for three months but can be extended by Congress.

The Senate and the House of Representatives, which are dominated by Duterte’s allies, both held emergency sessions on Monday and worked beyond midnight to deliberate the bill, with most lawmakers taking part online as a health precaution. Duterte is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

Duterte has already locked down the main northern island of Luzon, home to more than 50 million people, by restricting travel to and from the region, which includes Manila, the capital. Most residents have been ordered to stay home and work and classes have been suspended under the month-long containment.

Temperatures are checked before people enter a local city hall in Manila. Photo: AP

Opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan said the bill carries safeguards against potential abuse and blocked a proposal that the president be able to take over private companies if the crisis worsens.

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