Nazal beats majority bloc to filing ‘Bayanihan 3’ bill; eyes automatic relief during energy crises

Amid plans from the House majority bloc to pursue a "Bayanihan 3" measure and provide relief to fuel cost-weary Filipinos, a congressman from the minority bloc did just that. Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal has filed House Bill (HB) No. 8821, or the proposed “National Energy Emergency Relief and Protection Act,” which establishes a standing legal framework for ready-to-roll assistance. Nazal says this "Bayanihan-style" bill eliminates the need to craft emergency measures from scratch during every crisis. The assistant minority leader says it is automatically activated upon the declaration of a national energy emergency to protect Filipino families, workers, and key sectors. Nazal announced the filing of HB No.8821 ahead of planned joint hearings from a combination of 13 House committees next week for the purpose of drawing up an emergency response measure. Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo says the resulting legislature is likely to be a Bayanihan 3, to be loosely patterned to the first two Bayanihan law enacted in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nazal noted the country is already feeling the impact of volatile fuel prices driven by tensions in the Middle East. Thus, he underscored the need for automatic relief once a national energy emergency is declared. “The Philippines is confronting an energy shock with immediate consequences for transport costs, food distribution, business operations, and household welfare,” the party-list solon said in the bill’s explanatory note. He said the measure complements existing executive actions by providing a permanent statutory backbone for crisis response. “This bill does not duplicate that executive action. It provides what only legislation can firmly establish: a standing statutory framework for automatic relief, market stabilization, logistics continuity, labor protection, and targeted public support during any declared national energy emergency,” Nazal...