The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) recommended placing the entire Philippines under modified general community quarantine status to Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) starting March 1.
In President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s weekly address, NEDA Acting Secretary Karl Chua pointed out the need for the immediate shift to MGCQ to “address hunger, sickness, hunger, poverty, job and income loss that are arising from non-COVID cases”.
He stated that part of the economy’s re-opening is continuously preserving the health of Filipinos.
“Iyong ating quarantine restriction na ginawa since March of 2020, ang naidulot po nito na total income loss na 1.04 trillion pesos in 2020. So on average po araw-araw, 2.8 billion pesos po ng mga sahod, ng mga kita ang nawawala (Our quarantine restriction since March of 2020 has caused a total income loss of ₱1.04 trillion in 2020. So on daily average, ₱2.8 billion worth of wages are lost),” Chua disclosed.
The NEDA Chief insisted that there should be a balance between the “opening of the economy and the control of the virus”. In a survey in November when the hunger rate increased, 73% of Filipinos stated the need for the said balance.
The NEDA also endorsed the increase in public transport capacity from 50% to 75% along with active transport via bike lanes, allow more provincial buses to operate, expand age groups allowed outside from 15-65 to 5-70 years old, and to resume the pilot-testing of face-to-face classes. Chua then assured that all the recommendations will be done with the “appropriate safeguards”. Report from Mela Lesmoras/PTV News Online
