Itinutulak pa rin ng mga economic managers ng Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang tuluyang pagbubukas ng ekonomiya ng bansa sa kabila ng pagsirit ng bilang ng mga kaso ng COVID-19.
Sa isang joint statement, binigyang-diin nima acting Socioeconomic Planning Sec. Karl Kendrick Chua, Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez III, at Budget Sec. Wendel Avisado na maaari pa rin itong maisagawa nang ligtas lalo pa’t nagpapatuloy na ang vaccination program ng pamahalaan.
Inihayag din nila na upang mapabilis ang pagsigla ng ekonomiya at paglikha ng marami pang mga trabaho ngayong taon, kailangan ang tinatawag na “three-pronged strategy”.
Una ay ang ligtas na pagbubukas muli ng ekonomiya kasabay ng mahigpit na pagtalima sa health standards.
“On the first strategy, the gradual reopening of the economy requires a more careful and calibrated approach, given the risks from the new COVID-19 variants. A more targeted approach is also needed,” saad ng economic managers.
“On the one hand, we will need to be more vigilant in high-risk areas by strictly enforcing the health standards and using localized quarantines. This way, we can reduce virus spread without affecting the healthy majority who are in need of jobs to address their hunger and other health concerns,” dagdag nito.
Ikalawa ang implementasyon ng recovery package, lalo na sa mga napaglaanan na ng pondo ngunit hindi pa tuluyang nagagastos.
“The higher stimulus through the Bayanihan II, the 2020 budget extension, the 2021 budget, as well as the swift enactment or implementation of key legislations are all crucial,” saad nila.
“These reforms include the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiative to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) Act,” dagdag nila.
Ikatlo ang pagsiguro na naipatutupad ang vaccine program na sasaklaw sa buong adult population.
“We continue to receive more doses to keep the vaccination program going for the high-risk populations. We aim to provide vaccines to at least 70 million Filipinos this year, or 100 percent of the entire adult population,” sabi ng economic managers.
“Rolling out these lifesaving doses will allow us to safely open the economy more and restore jobs and incomes to make our fight against hunger more sustainable,” anang mga opisyal.
Pahayag ito ng economic managers matapos tumaas sa 1.6-milyon ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong walang trabaho noong Enero.
Una rito, sa kabila ng tumataas na bilang ng mga kaso, hindi sinang-ayunan ng Malakanyang ang posibilidad na magpatupad muli ng lockdown dahil sapat na naman daw ang bilang ng mga kama sa intensive care units ng mga ospital, maging sa mga isolation facilities.
