A major alliance of businesses in the country has warned that the Philippines is doomed to becoming the “Permanent Sick Man of Asia” if prolonged, massive lockdown would continue—pushing the economy further to a downward spiral.
Aurelio “Gigi” R. Montinola III, president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), told in an interview with ANC: “We must move up economic activity and patronize service establishments, of course in a phased manner. Otherwise, we’re going to be permanently doomed to being the “Permanent Sick Man of Asia”.
On Monday, the government had retracted its earlier decision to lift the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila as COVID-19 cases hit a new record.
However, MAP feared that strict lockdown would cloud hopes of an economic recovery in the remaining quarter of 2021 similar to what happened last year when the economy contracted by a record 9.6 percent.
Montinola explained that the Philippines is “still a service and consuming economy”. Hence, he added that it’s only imperative for the government to keep the gears of the service sector running. This tier of economy includes retail, banks, hotels, real estate, education, recreation, among others.
In a MAP-issued statement, Montinola stated: “We must immediately change the “health mostly” narrative and action plan to combat the COVID·19 pandemic after 18 futile months of using a Community Quarantine lockdown approach.”
The business group urged the government to allow more mobility, as incentive for fully vaccinated individuals, in order to nix looming ECQ which they referred to as ‘Economy Casualty Quotient’.
“We appeal to the IATF to consider this new pilot proposal immediately. Otherwise, ECQ may become known as the ‘Economy Casualty Quotient’ with positivity rate of increased poverty and hunger in the 20 percent to 50 percent range,” said Montinola.
As the number of vaccinated people increased in the National Capital Region (NCR), he said it was time to strike a balance between safeguarding public health and resuscitating the economy.
The group also emphasized their support for the implementation of the “Bakuna Bubble” in NCR—an approach first floated by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion among Metro Manila cities that have achieved high vaccination rates.
Under this proposal, people may present a vaccination card or a negative RT-PCR test to be allowed entry into commercial establishments. There would also be designated public utility vehicles for fully inoculated individuals.
MAP said current situation already calls for the ‘great reset’.
“[T]he ‘great reset’ leads for the common good, and the common good should include economic as opposed to just health,” stressed Montinola.
