A state of national emergency has been declared under Republic Act No. 11469, also known as the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act,” by reason of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Congress granted emergency powers to the President, including the power to grant additional benefits to medical frontliners:
Continue reading[On 24 March 2020, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11469, also known as the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act,” to address the national emergency brought about by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Added: Published in the Manila Bulletin on 25 March 2020; see also Implementation Directives. Here is the full text of R.A. 11469.]
Continue readingThe public health emergency caused by the novel coronavirus, subsequently named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), is the first of its kind in our lifetime. The request for emergency powers to address a national emergency, however, is not the first of its kind. On 23 March 2020, the House of Representatives started its deliberations on House Bill No. 6616, declaring a national emergency and granting emergency powers in favor of President Rodrigo Duterte. Three decades earlier, Congress passed a law declaring a state of national emergency and granting emergency powers to the President.
Continue readingThere are two important matters that come with the cessation of employment (for whatever reason, whether resignation or termination) — the payment of final pay and the issuance of the Certificate of Employment. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has issued guidelines for the release of the final pay and COE.
Continue readingThe COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) is a safety net program, available nationwide, that offers financial support to affected workers in private establishments that have adopted flexible work arrangements or temporary closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CAMP shall be effective on 21 March 2020, but applied retroactively from January 2020. [Added: This is now part of the social amelioration programs under the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1; see List of Social Amelioration Programs and Non-Duplication of SBWS, CAMP and SAP].
Continue readingConsumers have resorted to hoarding and panic buying, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) observed in its Memorandum Circular No. 20-07 dated 19 March 2020 (Anti-Hoarding and Anti-Panic Buying). The DTI also noted that if this consumer behavior, if allowed to continue, will not only cause more fear and prevent other consumers from purchasing what they need, but they will also cause artificial shortage and cause prices to soar (the DTI issued a Supplemental Anti-Hoarding and Anti-Panic Buying Directive, through Memorandum Circular No. 20-10 dated 31 March 2020, providing for additional vital or essential goods, regardless of brand). The DTI, therefore, decided to issue the Circular for the information and guidance of everyone. Here are the salient points of the Circular.
Continue readingThe recent government issuances involving the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) cite Republic Act No. 11332, also known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act” (approved on 26 April 2019). Here is a primer on R.A. 11332.
Continue reading[The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) extended, from 15 April 2020 to 15 May 2020, the filing and payment of annual income tax returns. Here is the full text of Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 28-2020.]
Continue reading[On 18 March 2020, the Executive Secretary issued a Memorandum to amend/modify the previous guidelines on the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine to address the Covid-19. The amendments are incorporated in the Primer. The full text of the Memorandum is reproduced below.]
Continue reading[This is the full text of Department of Labor and Employment Advisory No. 1, series of 2020, on the suspension of work in the private sector by reason of natural calamity or man-made calamity. Incidentally, President Rodrigo Duterte President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 929, declaring a state of calamity throughout the Philippines due to the coronavirus 2019 disease (Covid-19).]
Continue reading