PCCI wants private sector to be included in IATF

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s largest business group, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), wants the private sector to be included in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) so businesses can weigh in on policies that affect their operations.

In a statement yesterday, the PCCI said a resolution was passed by the group’s board of directors to urge the government to engage the private sector in consultations before coming up with policy recommendations on lockdowns and resumption of economic activities.

“We are appealing for the inclusion of the private sector in the IATF. The IATF will be able to use the on-the-ground experience of the business sector to come up with a holistic approach that will make it easier for businesses to resume operation and for workers to return to work,” PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico said.

He said based on his discussions with PCCI members around the country, all have expressed concern on the government’s apprehension in fully opening the economy, incoherence in the regulations of the IATF and local government, as well as the stringent guidelines imposed on enterprises allowed to operate under general community quarantine.

“For instance, mandating the use of face shields for workers, observance of two-meter physical distancing and the designation of an isolation area of one room for every 200 employees, are simply not realistic in a production-line setting,” he said.

He added that the health and safety protocols being required of businesses mean more cost and would eat up the already meager revenue of those in the informal sector.

“The PCCI is hopeful the government would recognize the vital role of businesses in creating jobs and providing income, as well as the need to address the issue of livelihood and poverty to avoid social unrest,” Yujuico said.

The group also reiterated its call to the government to allow the full resumption of economic activities.

“We acknowledge the hard work the IATF is doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We understand the precarious situation of our medical workers and frontliners. But we also need to stress that the longer our economy stays in its current state where businesses cannot function 100 percent, nor even up to 75 percent, the more protracted the recession that will follow and the more people will be permanently out of jobs,” he said.

During the 29th North Luzon Area Business Conference held yesterday, Yujuico said the business sector has yet to see a coherent game plan on the part of the government on how the economy can recover from the impact of the pandemic and bring back employment.

To allow businesses and the economy to get back up on their feet, he said there is a need to immediately pass the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) bill which seeks to provide over P1 trillion stimulus package.