Company executives turned a bit optimistic about the prospects of the economy and of their businesses but they said the pace of the vaccination rollout will determine how fast recovery will happen.
Results of the August PwC MAP 2021 Philippine CEO survey showed 66 percent of respondents are not satisfied with the vaccination rollout and 76 percent tagged slow vaccination rollout as the top factor that would delay the economy’s recovery.
Other factors cited are political uncertainty (44 percent) and reliance on lockdowns (43 percent).
Forty-two percent of the CEOs said their average daily sales/revenues decline by at least 20 percent each time the country is placed under enhanced, modified enhanced or general community quarantine. Yet, 74 percent say that their revenues will grow in the next 12 months–higher than 63 percent as polled in April and May this year.
For the country’s economy, the top key growth drivers for CEOs are infrastructure development (61 percent), domestic consumption (54 percent) and government spending (52 percent).
Half of them think that the economy will recover after two to three years.
The survey was conducted on 178 CEOs of financial, professional and manufacturing firms by PwC Philippines for the Management Association of the Philippines.
Meanwhile in a separate statement, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport)urged the government to ramp up vaccination and testing, preferably free.
But the business groups also decried suggestions to discriminate against the unvaccinated for constitutional, medical and practical reasons, as it runs counter to the objective of reopening the economy soonest.
“The policy of discrimination is a half measure that could complicate the early opening of the entire economy, since the elusive herd immunity according to medical experts is impossible to achieve even if the entire population is fully vaccinated,” said Edgardo. Lacson, acting president of PCCI.
He said many of the vaccinated people are senior citizens and those with comorbidities, while the unvaccinated youth, the bulk of consumers, may not even be allowed to go out.
The leaders also warned against complacency especially among vaccinated people, citing cases when they may even be carriers even as they are asymptomatic.
Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of ECOP and Philexport said allowing only vaccinated people to go out will not make a significant dent in the thrust to reopen the economy and hire back as many people as possible.
“With the same overhead but with lesser number of customers, entrepreneurs, particularly the micro and small, will rather not open their shops again,” he said.
