Government urged to set aside funds to contain SARS

The National Government must immediately allocate sufficient resources to contain the spread of the dreaded severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), former officials of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

The government, however, must ensure that this will not impact on the country’s ballooning budget deficit, which has been scaring away investors, the NEDA officials said.

Ateneo de Manila University assistant professor and former NEDA assistant director Ofelio M. Templo said SARS is a real threat to the economy in general, and the budget deficit in particular.

"The Philippines must immediately allocate resources to effectively increase security at the points of entry such as airports and seaports," Templo said during the formal launching of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

But budgetary officials must avoid digging into the coffers at the expense of other previously allocated funds for other development projects like environment, health and education, Templo said. An uncontrolled budget deficit would again reinforce fears of lower investment prospects for the country, he added.

Meanwhile, former NEDA Director General Cielito F. Habito advised the government agencies as well as private firms to look at areas of opportunity arising from the SARS scare. Habito is a director of the prestigious Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development while Templo is a member.

Several business meetings for global and regional corporate players have been postponed or reset due to the disease spread, and not too few have relocated meetings in the Philippines and Thailand. A number in fact have been contented with tele-conferencing to avoid having to physically be in these areas.

"The Philippines had been dreaming of being a regional business center, and we may have an opportunity with the SARS outbreak," Habito told reporters in the same event.

The same is true with the tourism industry, which should take advantage of the rerouting of foreign tourists from the two traditional destinations.

Habito and Templo both pointed out that it was too early to gauge the real impact of the SARS nightmare as there had not been clinical proof of the spread.