Several business group leaders in the Philippines have joined the call to urge the Inter-Agency Task Force to implement two weeks of hard locdown in the country to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
Joey Concepcion, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship, stated that the findings of OCTA Research convinced him to support the measure to halt and stop the highly contagious variant from spreading around the country.
“We are in total agreement that if we are going to do a lockdown, let’s not wait. Let’s nip it while we can,” said Concepcion.
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He said that the Philippines might risk a longer lockdown if preventive measures won’t be implemented as soon as possible, as per reports from CNN Philippines.
“If we do it much later on, you will require a longer lockdown,” added Concepcion.
George Barcelon, president emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that businesses must be given a leeway prior to implementing new lockdown measures.
“You can have a severe lockdown but then again, we should be cognizant that the transport of essentials is important. Hopefully, this time we’ll have enough time to make preparations,” said Barcelon.
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Henry Lim Bon Liong, president of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, stressed that the government should prepare additional cash aid since not all companies would be capable of providing full salaries of their employees, should stores close.
“For a company who can still afford the salary for the people, then we would like to recommend giving them salary, or if not 50%,” said Liong.
