Several individuals and the business sector are appealing to the government to deescalate the National Capital Region (NCR) to Alert Level 1 to support economic recovery.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said it is time to open the remaining industries which are currently prohibited to operate now that COVID-19 cases are low in NCR.
“I think we’re headed very clearly for opening up the economy for Alert Level 1. Schools should be open and back to normal hopefully by June. Capacities – I think we should allow restaurants to dictate their capacities,” he said in a forum of the Kamuning Bakery Café.
“Open up everything. Open up the casinos, open up every business out there that remains closed. That is very important. We have a lot of catching up to do,” he added.
Concepcion said the increasing debt of the country is alarming. Currently, the debt-to-GDP ratio is at 60.5% which is higher than the 60% international threshold.
“Our debt is going to balloon because of all of these efforts we’ve been doing to save our people’s lives. We have bought a lot of vaccines, testing equipment, and the list goes on,” he said.
“That is not going to stop because booster shots are going to be needed on a regular basis,” he added.
Meanwhile, Employers Confederation of the Philippines President Sergio Ortiz said establishments have measures in place to prevent COVID-19 transmission amid Alert Level 1 considerations.
The National Economic and Development Authority earlier said that up to 145,000 more jobs will be generated if Metro Manila shifts to Alert Level 1.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is set to discuss on Thursday regarding the final requirements for areas to be placed under Alert Level 1.
“Any announcement for Alert Level 1 or the other Alert Levels will be done before March 1,” Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio/AG – bny
