Full opening of NCR businesses pushed

MANILA, Philippines — A House leader is pushing for full reopening of business in Metro Manila as vaccination of target population inches closer to 100 percent.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero yesterday urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to open all businesses in the National Capital Region (NCR) to fully vaccinated individuals.

“With the NCR hitting over 80 percent of the target population now fully vaccinated, we need now to open our domestic economy to its full scale,” he said.

The 1-Pacman party-list congressman said the IATF may follow the economic reopening model of the United States.

“Back-to-normal life is now possible. This is exactly what the United States is doing and we should follow suit in order for our economy to gain traction,” he stressed.

“The vaccination cards will be the passport of fully vaccinated individuals to enter in and out of business establishments. ‘No vaccination card, No entry’ can be implemented similar to the US and other countries around the world,” Romero pointed out.

Romero, also an economist, made the proposal after the vaccination rate in NCR reached 95 percent.

The IATF announced that as of Oct. 28, a total of 9,374,416 individuals or 95.89 percent of the target population in NCR have already received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 8,498,986 individuals or 86.93 percent have already been fully vaccinated.

The government has retained Alert Level 3 in NCR where several businesses are allowed to operate but only at 30 percent to 50 percent capacity.