Allow full business operations to save economy, governmet urged

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, has urged the government to allow businesses to resume full operations and let the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

In a statement yesterday, PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico said almost five months of lockdowns have limited business operations and put more firms at greater risk of permanent closure.

He also said even the most optimistic projections on the economy could fail if lockdowns are maintained for a month or two more.

“Business closures mean drop in taxes and budgetary income, putting at risk the sustainability of public finances and the ability to fund public services, including health and education,” he said.

While the government has eased the community quarantine in most parts of the country and allowed more business activities to resume in an effort to reopen the economy, there are still some sectors operating at limited capacity.

“You cannot open a business and limit it to only 30 percent to 50 percent because they will only lose money and would rather close; you cannot tell a restaurant to open 50 percent because that is not enough to pay the rent, utilities and employees; you cannot tell a manufacturing company to operate at below capacity and still require it to provide accommodation and/or shuttle services for its workers; and you cannot open businesses, even in phases, without allowing public transportation,” Yujuico said.

Like Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea that have reopened their economies while practicing social distancing, implemented widespread testing and contact tracing, he said the Philippines could also restart the economy and prevent transmission of the coronavirus.

He said businesses are aware of the risks posed by COVID-19 and would be able to decide whether to operate at full capacity.

He also said employers and employees know they have to be more responsible in practicing social distancing, wearing masks and observing basic hygiene.

With the looming recession, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said yesterday the next six months would be crucial in setting the stage for economic recovery.

Drilon cited the failure of the strategies implemented by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) that leads the fight against the pandemic.

He said the IATF has failed to address the worsening health crisis and its impact, including surging unemployment and involuntary hunger that hit 5.2 million Filipino families.

“The IATF has failed. Let’s call a spade a spade. Look at where we are today: 70,764 Filipinos were affected as of yesterday, deaths running to 1,837, five million of our people unemployed, 40 percent of our MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) closed and, the worst, 5.2 million Filipino families suffered hunger in the past three months,” Drilon said during an interview with ANC’s Headstart.

He said the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week would be an opportunity for President Duterte to lay down his plans toward economic recovery which, he added, the IATF has failed to do.— Edu Punay, Pia Lee-Brago