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• Department Order No. 209 – Providing Guidelines on the Adjustment Measures Program For the Affected Workers due to Corona Virus. Under DAO 209, 5K was granted to affected workers who will not be able to receive their regular wage due to the implementation of the Enhanced Community Lockdown (ECQ) and the implementation of flexible work arrangement. Affected employees also included those whose leave credits will not suffice to cover the ECQ period and those in the informal sector.
• Labor Advisory No. 09-20 -Providing Guidelines on the Implementation of Flexible Work Arrangement As Remedial Measure due to the Ongoing Outbreak of Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) issued on 4 March 2020. The said Labor Advisory provided the different work arrangement the employer may adopt for its employees while the country is observing the ECQ, which include among others, WFH, Work Rotation, availment of force leave utilizing existing leave credits, if any.
• Labor Advisory No. 11-20 Supplemental Guidelines Relative to the Remedial Measure in view of the Ongoing Outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) issued 16 March 2020. The said Labor Advisory provided additional guidelines and remedial measures to be adopted to ensure the observance of ECQ.  It further clarified that manufacturing, retail and service establishments  shall remain in operation during the quarantine period observing social distancing. The same rule applies for those in the healthcare industry and in logistics establishment to ensure delivery of food, raw materials and other goods to ensure supply is unhampered.
• Labor Advisory No. 12 Series of 2020 – Clarificatory Guidelines on COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) 19 March 2020. The Labor Advisory provided guidelines and procedure on how the 5K grant under CAMP shall be filed in DOLE by providing the Establishment Report to be submitted online for processing and release of the grant.
• Labor Advisory No. 13 Series of 2020 – Payment of Wages for Regular Holidays on April 9, And 10, 2020 and Special Holiday on April 11, 2020. Issued March 30, 2020. The advisory provided the rates to be applied in the computation of wages for regular and Special holidays.
• Labor Advisory No. 13-A Series of 2020 – Deferment of Payment of Holiday Pay for the April 2020 holidays.  April 1, 2020.The Labor Advisory clarified that the employers shall have the option to defer the payment of holiday pay to be earned for the month of April 2020 until after the ECQ and the normal operations of the establishment is in place.
• Labor Advisory No. 14 Series of 2020 – Clarification on the Non-Inclusion of One-Month Enhanced Community Quarantine period on the sic-month probationary period. April 1, 2020. The advisory issued a clarification on the non-inclusion of the ECQ period in the six-month probationary period prescribed under the Labor Code.  It took into consideration the inability of the employer to assess the performance of the probationary employee given the quarantine.
  

REPUBLIC ACT 11469 OR THE “BAYANIHAN TO HEAL AS ONE ACT” (the “Act”)

The President has the power to adopt the following temporary emergency measures, among others, to respond to crisis brought by the pandemic:

• Provide an emergency subsidy to around eighteen (18) million low income households: Provided, That the subsidy shall amount to a minimum of Five thousand pesos (₱5,000.00) to a maximum of Eight thousand pesos (₱8,000.00) a month for two (2) months: Provided, further, That the subsidy shall be computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates: Provided, finally, That the subsidy received from the current conditional cash transfer program and rice subsidy shall be taken into consideration in the computation of the emergency subsidy as provided for in this Act.
• Ensure that donation, acceptance and distribution of health products intended to address the COVID-19 public health emergency are not unnecessarily delayed and that health products for donation duly certified by the regulatory agency or their accredited third party from countries with established regulation shall automatically be cleared: Provided, That this shall not apply to health products which do not require a certification or clearance from Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Ensure the availability of credit to the productive sectors of the economy especially in the countryside through measures such as, but not limited to, lowering the effective lending rates of interest and reserve requirements of lending institutions.
• Liberalize the grant of incentives for the manufacture or importation of critical or needed equipment or supplies for the carrying-out of the policy declared herein, including healthcare equipment and supplies: Provided, That importation of these equipment and supplies shall be exempt from import duties, taxes and other fees.
• Ensure the availability of essential goods, in particular food and medicine, by adopting measures as may reasonably be necessary to facilitate and/or minimize disruption to the supply chain, especially for basic commodities and services to the maximum extent possible.
• Continue to authorize alternative working arrangements for employees and workers in the Executive Branch, and whenever it becomes necessary, in other independent branches of government and constitutional bodies, and the private sector.
• Conserve and regulate the distribution and use of power, fuel, energy and water, and ensure adequate supply of the same.
  
• Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, direct the discontinuance of appropriated programs, projects or activities (P/A/P) of any agency of the Executive Department, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), in the FYs 2019 and 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA), whether released or unreleased, the allotments for which remain unobligated, and utilize the savings generated therefrom to augment the allocation for any item directly related to support operations and response measures, which are necessary or beneficial in order to address the COVID-19 emergency, consistent with the herein declared national policy. (w) Any unutilized or unreleased balance in a special purpose fund, as of the date of declaration of a State of Emergency, shall be considered to have their purpose abandoned for the duration of the State of Emergency. All such unspent, unutilized or unreleased money or funds sourced from collections or receipts, including future collections and receipts, shall be utilized and are hereby appropriated for such measures to address the COVID-19 situation and accomplish the declared national policy herein.
• Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, reprogram reallocate, and realign from savings on other items of appropriations in the FY 2020 GAA in the Executive Department, as may be necessary and beneficial to fund measures that address and respond to the COVID-19 emergency, including social amelioration for affected communities, and the recovery of areas, sectors and industries severely affected. All amounts so reprogrammed, reallocated or realigned shall be deemed automatically appropriated for such measures to address the COVID-19 situation within the period specified under Section 9 hereof.
• Move statutory deadlines and timelines for the filing and submission of any document, the payment of taxes, fees, and other charges required by law, and the grant of any benefit, in order to ease the burden on individuals under Community Quarantine.
• Direct all banks, quasi-banks, financing companies, lending companies, and other financial institutions, public and private, including the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System and Pag-ibig Fund, to implement a minimum of a thirty (30)-day grace period for the payment of all loans, including but not limited to salary, personal, housing, and motor vehicle loans, as well as credit card payments, falling due within the period of the enhanced Community Quarantine without incurring interests, penalties, fees or other charges, persons with multiple loans shall likewise be given the minimum thirty (30)-day grace period for every loan.
• Provide for a minimum of thirty (30)-day grace period on residential rents falling due within the period of the enhanced community quarantine, without incurring interests, penalties, fees, and other charges;

Department of Finance (DOF)

Implementing Rules and Regulations of Section 4(aa) of RA No. 11469.

• All covered institutions shall implement a 30-day grace period for all loans with principal and/or interest falling due within the ECQ period without incurring interest on interest, penalties, fees and other charges. This period shall automatically be extended if the ECQ period is likewise extended by the President.
• Non-application of interests, fees and charges are likewise applicable to future payments and/or amortization of individuals, households, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and corporate borrowers.
• Covered institutions are prohibited from requiring their clients to waive the application of the Act. Any waiver previously executed shall be deemed invalid. For this purpose, no additional DST shall be imposed as a consequence of the relief so granted.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

• Memorandum No. M-2020-017 - Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Section 4(aa) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11469, Otherwise Known as the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act”
  • It mandates all covered institutions to implement a 30-day grace period to all loans with principal and/or interest falling due within the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) period, without incurring interest on interest, penalties, fees and other charges. The 30-day grace period shall apply to each loan of individuals and entities with multiple loans.
  • Covered institutions shall not charge or apply interest on interest, fees and charges during the 30-day grace period to future payments/amortizations of the borrowers. They are likewise prohibited from requiring their clients to waive the application of the provisions of the Act. No waiver previously executed by borrowers covering payments falling due during the ECQ period shall be valid.
  • The accrued interest for the 30-day grace period may be paid by the borrower on staggered basis over the remaining life of the loan. Nonetheless, this shall not preclude the borrower from paying the accrued interest in full on the new due date.

The initial 30-day grace period shall automatically be extended if the ECQ period is extended by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

*Covered Institutions (for DOF and BSP) shall mean all lenders, including but not limited to banks, quasi-banks, non-stock savings and loan associations, credit card issuers, pawnshops and other credit granting financial institutions under the supervision of the BSP, Sec, and Cooperative Development Authority, public or private, including GSIS, SSS and Pag-ibig Fund.

Commission on Audit – Government Procurement Policy Board (COA-GPPB)

Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 on Emergency procurement by the government during a state of public health emergency arising from the Covid-19

• To further support the government's efforts to mitigate, if not contain the transmission of COVID-19 in the country, the GPPB issued resolutions to simplify and streamline the Rules on Negotiated Procurement (Emergency Cases) modality, as an exemption to Public Bidding under RA No. 9184, and enable Procuring Entities to efficiently and expediently undertake procurement during a State of Public Health Emergency. During the State of Public Health Emergency declared by the President, Procuring Entities are allowed to resort to Negotiated Procurement (Emergency Cases) for the procurement of Goods, Infrastructure Projects and Consulting Services that are directly related to the mitigation and containment of the transmission of COVID-19, in order for Procuring Entities to properly and timely respond to this Public Health Emergency.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Notice to Financing Companies (FCs) and Lending Companies (LCs). SEC issued this notice directing all FCs and LCs to implement a minimum of a thirty (30)-day grace period for the payment of all loans, falling due within the period of the enhanced Community Quarantine without incurring interests, penalties, fees, or other charges.
• SEC Memorandum Circular No. 5 on the EXTENSION OF FILING OF THE 201 ANNUAL REPORTS INCLUDING THE APPLICABLE QUARTERLY REPORTS FOR YEAR 2020 AND 2019 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (AFS). The Commission grants the following affected companies an extension of time without penalty, within which to submit the Annual Reports and/or AFS for the period ended 31 December 2019: (i) For companies doing domestic operations only - an extension of time until 30 June 2020: and (ii) For companies with domestic and foreign operations - an extension of time until 30 June 2020 or 60 days from that date of lifting of travel restrictions/ban by the concerned government authorities, whichever comes later.
  
• SEC memorandum circular no. 6 guidelines on the attendance and participation of directors, trustees, stockholders, members, and other persons of corporations in regular and special meetings through teleconferencing, video conferencing and other remote or electronic means of communication .These guidelines provide corporations guidance in formulating their internal procedures and bylaws which will allow their directors, trustees, stockholders, members and other persons to participate and vote in meetings in absentia or through remote modes of communication as defined in these guidelines, pursuant to the revised corporation code. It also operationalize the objectives of republic act no. 8792, otherwise known as the electronic commerce act, to facilitate domestic and international dealings, transactions, arrangements, agreements through the utilization of electronic, optical and similar medium, mode, instrumentality and technology and to promote the universal use of electronic transaction.
• Sec memorandum circular no. 7 guidelines on preventive measures against covid-19 in the handling of records at the securities and exchange commission. This circular provides the preventive measures adopted by SEC with regard to (a) requesting for plain/authenticated copies of SEC documents and (b) filing/submission of reports and/or other documents to SEC given that all filings at the head office and satellite offices shall be temporarily suspended until further notice.
• Sec memorandum circular no. 9 on the guidelines for the filing of the general information sheet (GIS) during the covid-19 outbreak and ECQ. This circular provides guidance on the matters related to the filing and supposed contents of the GIS during the implementation of the ECQ.
• Sec memorandum circular no. 10 guidelines on submission by electronic mail of gis, afs, forms and documents required under existing laws, rules and regulations, and recognition of electronic signature. Pursuant to and in compliance with the guidelines on the ECQ, SEC will accept electronic copies of the GIS, AFS and all other general and special forms and letters subject to specific guidelines set forth in this circular. Such documents should contain an electronic signature as defined under the electronic commerce act of 2000. The commission shall thereafter require physical copies of required reportorial submissions according to established rules and regulations once the state of public health emergency has been lifted.
• Notice to investment companies, registered issuers of proprietary and non-proprietary shares/timeshares public companies, financing companies, lending companies, foundations, accredited microfinance ngos and publicly-listed companies under the supervision of corporate governance and finance department (cgfd). Sec suspends the daily and monthly monetary penalties (cumulative penalties), as may be applicable, imposable on investment companies, issuers of proprietary and non-proprietary shares/timeshares, public companies, lending companies, financing companies, foundations, accredited microfinance ngos and publicly-listed companies under the supervision of the cgfd (covered companies), from 13 march 20201, until the ecq period is lifted by order of the president.

Insurance commission (ic)

• Circular letter no. 2020-20 on the filing of 2019 annual statements (as) / 2019 audited financial statements (afs). This circular provides that ic will accept filing of regulated entities’ 2019 as and/or 2019 afs (including their required attachments) until 01 june 2020 without imposing penalties for late submission
  

Inter-agency task force issuances

• A 30-day grace period has been extended to commercial rents falling due upon msmes within the period of ecq without incurring interests, penalties, fess and other charges subject to the guidelines to be issued by the department of trade and industry.

Tax: Andrew James Gerard Ruiz - adruiz@kpmg.com
Restructuring: Michael Arcatomy Guarin - mguarin@kpmg.com
Legal: Maria Victoria Beltran - mrbeltran@kpmg.com