Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion is pushing for the opening of high-risk sectors and relaxed entry protocols to tourists who are fully vaccinated.
In a statement, Concepcion said he is proposing for the opening of high-risk category industries like arenas, movie theaters, bars, and the like to implement segregation where the vaccinated can stay indoors and those unvaccinated will stay outdoors.
He said restaurants should be given 20 percent additional capacity for diners who are fully vaccinated.
Concepcion said areas of high-risk category can implement segregation like what is practised in the US. “Some are not accepting those unvaccinated. These are some examples of what the private sector will propose,” he said.
Concepcion is also in favor of allowing the entry of tourists from countries where at least half of the population had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and also to those who have been fully vaccinated, provided that they take an RT-PCR test upon arrival.
“There is no need anymore for the seven-day quarantine, which has deterred many potential tourists from coming over to the Philippines,” he added.
Concepcion said government and private sector should prepare the Philippines for the “next normal” marked by greater mobility and opening up of more sectors of the economy.
Concepcion earlier pushed for the issuance of a vaccine pass – which for now can be the bakuna card issued by local government units – exemption from getting an RT-PCR test for fully vaccinated Filipinos wanting to travel around the country, and allowing restaurants and other establishments with the required health and safety protocols to go beyond their imposed limits and accept more fully vaccinated guests.
“We have to give the vaccinated population greater mobility as soon as we achieve the minimum of population protection. Doing so will go a long way in reviving some of our battered sectors such as the tourism and hospitality sectors and the food and beverage industry,” said Concepcion.
He said with 40 to 50 percent population protection, the country can confidently open up more sectors of the economy and perk up activity to shore up the Philippines’ GDP and rescue companies, particularly micro small and medium scale enterprises.
The Department of Finance (DOF) meanwhile sees the eventual easing of quarantine restrictions as some 35 million economic workers are vaccinated.
These are private sector workers who need to be physically present in their workplace; employees in government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations and local government units; informal sector workers and self-employed individuals who work outside their homes; and those working in private households are included in the A4 priority group. – Irma Isip and Angela Celis
