THE government said it is focused on helping those who have lost their jobs amid measures implemented to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and supporting frontliners who are fighting the pandemic, thus the stimulus package, proposed by business groups, will have to take the backseat for now.
“I have told the people who had come out with that proposal to do a stimulus package, that is not our priority at the moment,” Carlos Dominguez, finance secretary, told reporters via Google Meet last Wednesday.
“Our priority now is to the people who have lost their daily livelihood. Number two, protect the people who are the frontliners and expand our capacity to deal with this on a physical basis, and to provide liquidity to the economy,” Dominguez said.
Several business groups in a statement last week said the government “can and should adopt a fiscal stimulus program that will raise our deficit-to-GDP ratio to close to five percent.”
Another statement issued by business organizations early this week said the government should consider provisions that would provide rehabilitation, special financing programs and/or a stimulus package to help businesses that are adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That’s why I really appreciate FINEX (Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines). FINEX focused on what is required. What is required right now is the ability of the government to move funds around to meet the new imperatives. You know this stimulus package, we don’t even know, what’s the point of giving tax credits or giving stimulus package now when you have no workers? What’s the point?” Dominguez said.
“The workers are in quarantine. We want them to be on quarantine so that the disease doesn’t spread. Let’s talk about that later,” he added.
FINEX earlier called for an Emergency Calamity Amelioration Program to urgently support and rescue the most vulnerable sectors of the society, who are feeling the brunt of the national calamity.
