THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) this early is preparing a plan to rebuild business and consumer confidence and avoid a prolonged economic recession post the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ernesto Pernia, socioeconomic planning secretary, said the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act “enables the government to act swiftly in identifying programs and targeted measures, together with sources of funds that can be quickly disbursed.”
NEDA said the law is aligned the World Health Organization’s guidelines for preventing the further transmission of COVID-19 through “effective education, detection, protection, and treatment”.
“NEDA will continue to monitor the situation. Once the spread of the disease is contained and it becomes safe to resume operations, an economic recovery plan must be quickly set in motion. Through joint efforts, we will define a new normal state of the economic activity that is more prepared and resilient not only to this kind of pandemic but also to climate change,” Pernia said.
“Accordingly, we will update our development plans and investment programs to be responsive to the needs of the country and its people, both in the short term and in the medium to long term,” he added.
As part of the Inter-agency Task Force, NEDA is hoping to contribute substantially to the National Action Plan, Pernia said
Pernia said NEDA is committed to collaborate with the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance (DOF), and government line agencies in putting together a holistic package and mobilizing resources for such.
NEDA earlier released a report assessing and addressing the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which presents a three-phased program of interventions.
Phase 1a is clinical and medical response to rising COVID-19 cases. Pernia said this has to move very quickly. The Bayanihan Act fast-tracks the accreditation of testing kits needed for early detection, diagnosis, and more widespread testing. It also ensures COVID-19 treatment coverage under the National Health Insurance Program, especially of the public and private health workers.
For Phase 1b, which is on public health response, the Act ensures that the local government units are implementing within the set standards of community quarantine.
“Related to work suspension to reduce possible disease transmission, the government recognizes that the poor and marginalized are the ones most affected by this crisis. The Bayanihan Act enables the government to provide emergency subsidy to around 18 million low-income households for two months to help address the impact of loss of income and employment,” Pernia said.
Alongside this, an expanded and enhanced Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will be implemented to give households the capacity to purchase basic food and essential items during the community quarantine.
For Phase 1c, short-term augmentation of health systems capacity, temporary human resources for health will be deployed to complement or supplement the existing health workforce.
Under the Bayanihan Act, procurement of the highly needed supplies, equipment, and other resources to be determined by the Department of Health and relevant government agencies will also be expedited.
Quarantine centers, temporary medical facilities, and medical relief and aid distribution centers will be prioritized in the allocation of resources.
Pernia said that actions need to be well coordinated and geared towards protecting people and ensuring economic recovery. NEDA is poised to elaborate on the measures specifically under phase two and phase three.
Meanwhile, Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, told reporters in a recent briefing via Google Meet the government has already collected around P36 billion in dividends from several government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as of March 24, which can be used to support its COVID-19 response.
“We will spend this money to support the P200 billion support for the people who lost their livelihood, that’s number one. Number two, certainly to purchase more safety equipment for the frontliners. That’s basically where we will use the funds,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said that the government estimates that it will soon get another P66 billion in GOCC dividends, which can bring the total remittances to around a hundred billion pesos.
“We don’t know exactly the number. This is a developing number. What I gave you are what will most likely (be remitted). We are not sure yet. But those are the big numbers. There are still some more that we are looking at,” Dominguez said.
