MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry (PCCI) is urging the government to focus on an early treatment option against COVID-19 to enable the country to bounce back from the economic impact of the pandemic.
PCCI president George Barcelon aired the association’s position on Wednesday at a virtual forum organized by the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines (CDCph).
“Earlier, I mentioned that prophylaxis is available. The government now should concentrate more on early treatment,” Barcelon said.
He noted that just like flu, COVID-19 would be part of people’s lives as everyone is bound to get infected.
“I would think that all the precautions we’ve taken or the protocols over time have helped us reach this point. It may not be very ideal, but this is what we’re seeing going towards 2022. We hope that things will be much better,” he added.
He also called on the government to further ease restrictions to accelerate the country’s economic recovery.
“I’m not a medical expert, but I’m just reading all about what other countries are doing that they are opening up – in Singapore and certain parts of the United States and Europe. They have allowed people to self-test so that if there is a cluster of infection, they can capture it early and treat it,” he explained.
He suggested that the government repurpose contact tracing funds, provide self-testing kits, and allow people to test themselves.
PCCI previously asked the government to make antigen test kits available for free to help contain the spread of COVID-19 as the country eases restrictions.
The group supported granular over mass lockdowns. “We have local chambers that can help coordinate certain areas, and if the numbers are going up, we need to do an isolated quarantine instead of mass lockdown,” he pointed out.
Barcelon said it is now time for the country to “move ahead cautiously.”
“Once the government opens up, including the transportation sector, gradually our economy would recover and rebound,” Barcelon said.
Meanwhile, the country’s largest labor group yesterday welcomed the lifting of the controversial “no vaccination no ride” policy of the government.
At the same, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) asked the government to distribute antigen testing kits and undertake a massive education campaign on self-care against COVID.
“The no vax, no ride is a brutal coercive policy. Educating everyone on how to do self-care against COVID-19 is the better approach to make everyone responsible in ensuring their well-being and that of their families whether vaccinated or not,” TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.
“Granular lockdowns and alert level restrictions don’t lift workers out of poverty and doesn’t help businesses out of the bankruptcy created by the health pandemic and economic crises. The government should do away with these self-defeating lockdown strategies and shift to freer mobility and activity,” Mendoza explained.
Mendoza also proposed that the government provide free antigen self-test kits and isolate and quarantine those positive from the general population.
“This is preferable rather than prohibiting community movement and restricting operations of businesses and industries. This is the key component in the transition,” he said.