Manila Bulletin
Philippines
'Better Normal' bill clears subpanel, assured priority in House plenary session
Philippines
'Better Normal' bill clears subpanel, assured priority in House plenary session
'Better Normal' bill clears subpanel, assured priority in House plenary session
Published May 27, 2020 12:00 am
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
The House Defeat COVID-19 Committee-New Normal Cluster passed on May 27, Wednesday, a substitute bill establishing policies, regulations, and public health safeguards for the better normal in the workplace, public space, and communities for the next three years.
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
During its virtual hearing, the House subpanel, chaired by Antique lone district Rep. Loren Legarda, unanimously approved the proposed “Better Normal for the Workplace, Communities, and Public Spaces Act of 2020” in less than 20 minutes.
This “Better Normal” bill substituted House Bill No. 6623, principally authored by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, and Legarda.
It was Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Paul Ruiz Daza who moved for the approval of the bill.
Legarda said she has been assured by Cayetano that the plenary passage of the bill will be prioritized.
“We will sponsor it by tomorrow afternoon in session,” she said during the hearing.
The unnumbered substitute bill provides the “adoption of an integrated and comprehensive approach to public health policies and regulations during a pandemic, where the overall well-being of individuals, communities, and natural ecosystems are ensured.”
It calls for the institution and establishment of standards and protocols to protect the vulnerable sectors from the disease, to prevent the transmission of the virus, and ensure the restoration of livelihood opportunities and sources of income for all.
Covered by the proposed Act are the organization, operation, and activities in workplaces, communities, and public spaces.
Among the universal and mandatory health and safety measures to be imposed in public places are personal hygiene, the wearing of face masks, the availability of hand washing or sanitizing stations, body temperature checks, physical distancing, information and educational campaign, testing centers and mass testing, contract tracing, and regular cleaning and disinfection of transport conveyances and station premises and facilities.
Under the substitute bill, public gatherings are prohibited, subject to exceptions as may be provided under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), while privately-organized gatherings shall also be highly-regulated.
The bill tasks local government units to regulate gatherings as well as the flow of people in government-managed public spaces.
It provides the establishment of urban garden and agriculture, and green spaces, and no designated smoking areas shall be allowed.
In public transportation, universal and mandatory safety measures shall be observed in terminals, interiors of public utility vehicles (PUVs), mass transportation, and app-based transport network services (TNS).
Passengers shall be seated one seat apart, and use of contactless payment mechanisms shall be imposed.
The proposed Act provides that the operation of motorcycle taxis shall remain suspended.
The bill tasks the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to determine the start of the academic year and to implement alternative platforms of learning, instruction, and evaluation.
It mandates DepEd to develop flexible learning program to limit the physical contact among school population.
“Students shall not be penalized for inability to participate due to limitations in connectivity or unavailability of gadgets or equipment,” the bill said.
The measure calls for database profiling of businesses, commercial establishments, and industries, and the submission of a Better Normal Workforce and Workplace Management Plan.
The proposed “Better Normal for the Workplace, Communities, and Public Spaces Act of 2020” will “expire after a three-year period from the date of its effectivity, or sooner upon official declaration of the President of the Philippines issued by upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases that the prevailing pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, or similar diseases has already been eradicated.”
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
During its virtual hearing, the House subpanel, chaired by Antique lone district Rep. Loren Legarda, unanimously approved the proposed “Better Normal for the Workplace, Communities, and Public Spaces Act of 2020” in less than 20 minutes.
This “Better Normal” bill substituted House Bill No. 6623, principally authored by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, and Legarda.
It was Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Paul Ruiz Daza who moved for the approval of the bill.
Legarda said she has been assured by Cayetano that the plenary passage of the bill will be prioritized.
“We will sponsor it by tomorrow afternoon in session,” she said during the hearing.
The unnumbered substitute bill provides the “adoption of an integrated and comprehensive approach to public health policies and regulations during a pandemic, where the overall well-being of individuals, communities, and natural ecosystems are ensured.”
It calls for the institution and establishment of standards and protocols to protect the vulnerable sectors from the disease, to prevent the transmission of the virus, and ensure the restoration of livelihood opportunities and sources of income for all.
Covered by the proposed Act are the organization, operation, and activities in workplaces, communities, and public spaces.
Among the universal and mandatory health and safety measures to be imposed in public places are personal hygiene, the wearing of face masks, the availability of hand washing or sanitizing stations, body temperature checks, physical distancing, information and educational campaign, testing centers and mass testing, contract tracing, and regular cleaning and disinfection of transport conveyances and station premises and facilities.
Under the substitute bill, public gatherings are prohibited, subject to exceptions as may be provided under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), while privately-organized gatherings shall also be highly-regulated.
The bill tasks local government units to regulate gatherings as well as the flow of people in government-managed public spaces.
It provides the establishment of urban garden and agriculture, and green spaces, and no designated smoking areas shall be allowed.
In public transportation, universal and mandatory safety measures shall be observed in terminals, interiors of public utility vehicles (PUVs), mass transportation, and app-based transport network services (TNS).
Passengers shall be seated one seat apart, and use of contactless payment mechanisms shall be imposed.
The proposed Act provides that the operation of motorcycle taxis shall remain suspended.
The bill tasks the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to determine the start of the academic year and to implement alternative platforms of learning, instruction, and evaluation.
It mandates DepEd to develop flexible learning program to limit the physical contact among school population.
“Students shall not be penalized for inability to participate due to limitations in connectivity or unavailability of gadgets or equipment,” the bill said.
The measure calls for database profiling of businesses, commercial establishments, and industries, and the submission of a Better Normal Workforce and Workplace Management Plan.
The proposed “Better Normal for the Workplace, Communities, and Public Spaces Act of 2020” will “expire after a three-year period from the date of its effectivity, or sooner upon official declaration of the President of the Philippines issued by upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases that the prevailing pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, or similar diseases has already been eradicated.”