Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez yesterday said about a million more workers will not be able to go back to work even as the center of the economy has shifted to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
Lopez said more businesses remain closed until the end of the month, some by choice and others due to the continued prohibitions.
Lopez in an interview over dzbb yesterday hinted that small businesses can seek relief from government through the Bayanihan 2 which allows among others the suspension of payment of rents and loans in areas under ECQ and MECQ.
“There are a lot of proposals such as wage subsidies (by the Department of Labor and Employment) for affected companies and we hope there would be more funds for small and medium enterprises to subsidize their operating expenses. There were earlier suggestions for the suspension of payments of loans or extend the terms by banks, stop or deferred payment of rents,” Lopez said.
Lopez said the past two weeks of ECQ has caused the loss of livelihood of 500,000 workers, double than the estimate of the National Economic and Development Authority.
Lopez said the 1 million workers can only restore their jobs once the entire country shifts to the general community quarantine (GCQ).
This, he said, is based on the unemployment data of the Philippine Statistics Authority which reported that four million jobs were lost
due to the pandemic.
With the two-week ECQ, Lopez more establishments have closed from just 5 percent as indicated by a previous survey.
Hard hit is the restaurant business where some, particularly those with no capability for takeout, delivery or al fresco, have opted to close until the end of the month.
“There are just a handful of restaurants that can offer outdoor dining and most are inside malls so they cannot operate. They said they’d rather close,” Lopez said.
He added retailers in malls may now be allowed to operate even as only authorized persons outside residence (APOR) will be allowed to go out for work or get essentials.
According to LopezAPORs may dine al-fresco and shop in malls to give them options while on essential errands.
Lopez expects smaller foot traffic in malls which are known to adhere strictly to minimum public health standards (MPHS).
“We want for now to calibrate reopening. What is important is the relatively lower risk activities are now allowed to operate and save jobs,” Lopez said.
Meanwhile, the DTI reported 94.7 percent of the business firms and establishments in the National Capital Region (NCR) monitored in the first quarter comply with the government mandated MHPS.
Out of the 1,077 inspected business establishments in the NCR, 791 were found to be compliant to the MHPS and 146 Requests for Corrective Action were issued to non-compliant business establishments. Of that,89 complied within prescribed time, 46 were endorsed to local government units for further action and investigation, and 11 are awaiting corrective actions.
The non-conforming establishments were found to be lacking the mandatory contact tracing and/or health declaration forms and thermal scanner upon entry; some of the firm’s personnel were not properly wearing their face masks and face shields while on duty; and several customers were not following at least one-meter physical distancing. – Irma Isip
