Management Association of Philippines (MAP) President Aurelio “Gigi” Montinola III cautioned that the general economic output in the third quarter could be impacted by the hard lockdown imposed by the Philippine government in the National Capital Region.
Aurelio urged the government to look at the overall impact of imposing stricter quarantine classifications on the economy including the employment of people.
In an interview with ANC 24/7, Montinola cited the 1.7 million Filipinos who have been rendered jobless since the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the involuntary hunger survey of SWS when deciding on hard lockdown measures.
“It is going to be a two-tier economy and the harder job will be in non-essential areas. And for that [there’s] no choice but to adapt.”
At this point, he said the need to ramp up the vaccination drive during the lockdown cannot be emphasized enough to hasten economic recovery.
“I think the most important thing, and the government is listening, is to continue the vaccination program even during ECQ. If they have an incentive-disincentive system, I think that’s very important. The cash aid will definitely be welcomed for the areas that need it, but we also be practical… People have also noted that there’s is a Fitch potential downgrade warning,” Montinola said.
He added: “If we can just get to the 50 percent range [of vaccination in NCR] by August-September and then hopefully 70 percent by November-December, that’s going to solve all kinds of problems including the possible Fitch view on the Philippine economy.”
A severe quarantine measure or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the NCR began on August 6. The latest ECQ which runs until August 20 is the third round of hard lockdowns in Metro Manila which has 14 million people since March 2020. It underwent lockdowns in March 2020 and March 2021.
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