Dominguez prods local companies to help boost consumer confidence

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) has asked local businesses to implement measures that would help regain the confidence of consumers, which is crucial for the country’s economic recovery.

Speaking before the members of the Iloilo Business Club (IBC), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the country is now faced with the challenge of reviving consumer confidence in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our real problem right now with this COVID-19 is how to give people the confidence that if they go out and they start their regular activities or go back to work, they are not going to get infected or if they get infected, there is a way of curing it,” Dominguez told the business community.

As lifting of government’s movement restrictions alone would not automatically bring back consumer confidence, Dominguez called on business owners to implement measures that would encourage consumers to return to their establishments.

For instance, Dominguez said mall and hotel owners should reassure consumers that they are implementing health and safety measures in their premises.

“Let’s create a bubble of confidence in Iloilo so that people can resume their regular lives and resume their jobs,” he said.

The finance chief also called on the business community to innovate their operations by taking advantage of digital technologies to prepare for the new economy.

Dominguez said Iloilo, being an agriculturally productive area, also needs to keep its focus on this sector.

“Agriculture is a very inelastic demand. People are gonna eat – the more you produce there and the more you make available for people to consume, the better for the local economy,” Dominguez said.

Moreover, he assured the Iloilo business community that the government is committed to pursuing the Build Build Build program despite the global coronavirus pandemic.

Even before the pandemic, Dominguez said Western Visayas had already been a major growth center and contributor to the economy, given the rapid growth of various sectors in the region resulting from massive investments in infrastructure.

He cited, for instance, the expansion projects in the Port of Estancia and the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex that were inaugurated by the Department of Transportation in June this year.

Dominguez said these strategic projects would address the local and foreign shipping demands in the country and boost regional inter-connectivity.

While the government is fighting the pandemic, it is also taking measures to rebuild the economy and steer it back towards the path of sustained and high growth, he said.

“We are not taking the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic lightly. The government is handling this crisis in a prudent and decisive manner. The legislature passed fiscally responsible measures that we can implement within our means,” he pointed out.