PROPOSALS PUSHED FOR FIXING PHL’S PATH TO PROSPERITY POST-PANDEMIC
THE indefatigable spirit of the intrepid Filipino has always driven many bright minds to offer what little hope there is; a solace for taking up the journey from the vicissitudes the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has wrought.
Foremost among these Filipinos is Rep. Jose Sarte Salceda of Albay. Salceda, who also heads the House Committee on Ways and Means, has a somber appreciation of the condition of an economy at the edge of a crevice.
“Economic growth is always in the future. We have many economic tools to restore economic growth,” Salceda said. “But no economic tool has ever succeeded in bringing the dead back to life.”
The lawmaker emphasized that history and economics do not show that the implementation of the 35day enhanced community quarantine (ECQ ) is a “tradeoff ” between lives and economic growth.
“The more lives we lose and the more panic this virus creates if it gets worse, the less our chances are of any quick recovery,” Salceda said. “Our people and our confidence – these are the two greatest resources in any economy; and they are the only irreplaceable ones.”
Indeed, as Covid-19 spreads and adds pressure to burst the filament of the Filipino spirit, there is hope one of the “Sick men of Asia” would resume treading the path to prosperity.
Waiting for a vaccine ACCORDING to Salceda, the key driving forces to resumption of growth are: mass testing, vaccines discovery and stimulus response.
“While awaiting a vaccine, it is testing that would determine the gradual return to normal business operations and societal functions,” he said. “We assume that the Philippines will make inroads starting May.”
“The discovery of a vaccine is actually the most critical determinant of recovery. We assume that a vaccine will found later in 2021 and it would be implemented in 2022,” he added. A vaccine, however, could only address the real possibility of a recrudescence of the disease.
According to Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) Teodoro E. Padilla, they are in a “unique” position as the importance of research and development (R&D) has come to the fore.
Oftentimes, the value of R&D is unappreciated with the imposition of policies that restrict, disincentivize and discourage innovation, Padilla explained.
The presence in the Philippines of pharmaceutical companies involved in the R&D for Covid-19 offers opportunity for timely dialogue, collaboration and action to urgently bring in required medicines in the country, he told the Businessmirror.
Padilla said he considers the R&D undertaken by PHAP members on vaccines, treatment and diagnostics for Covid-19 as contributing to addressing the pandemic.
The other two PHAP contributions
are: helping ensure the uninterrupted supply of life-saving medicines and supplies and individual and collective corporate social responsibility efforts.
Engaging in R&D
ACCORDING to Padilla, pharmaceutical companies involved in the R&D for Covid-19 offer opportunity for collaboration.
He said these firms “have individually reached out to the government on their readiness to collaborate on specific partnerships.” he added.
Padilla said pharmaceutical companies undertaking research for Covid-19 treatments and have presence in the Philippines include Astrazeneca, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and Takeda.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies engaged in the research of vaccines operating in the Philippines are Glaxosmithkline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Sanofi.
On the development and production of diagnostic tests, Abbott, Roche and Takeda are in the forefront, according to Padilla.
He said these companies and the PHAP are willing to work with the government in planning for and securing sustainable strategies for future public health emergencies.
“Moving forward, PHAP hopes the government can help make the environment more conducive to innovation so that these researchbased pharmaceutical companies continue to operate here in the Philippines,” Padilla said.
“Policies that enable, support, incentivize and protect innovation are necessary for these research-based companies, and other global companies to invest in the Philippines.”
Long run
SALCEDA, a senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Economic Affairs, said a strategy must be implemented to help the government address the pandemic.
According to the lawmaker, he is set to submit to President Rodrigo Duterte a 109-page Philippine National Stimulus Strategy.
“We must change strategy and look at one that can be in force until a cure is found,” he said. “This may be soon or it can be a long way from today so our strategy must allow for that.”
Salceda, an economist, said this strategy seeks to provide relief for firms and individuals, reduce permanent structural damage of a temporary crisis and pursue a policy for full employment.
Under his strategy, Salceda proposed survival, transitional and structural measures to cope the impact of the deadly virus.
Salceda’s survival measures include the following: the ECQ; emergency subsidy program; and, other forms of cash and in-kind assistance especially for the vulnerable sector. The government is currently implementing these measures.
Padilla told the Businessmirror that, from the medical sector’s viewpoint, the ECQ is a necessary measure to contain the spread of the pandemic.
“We are aware that more lives could be lost and the impact on the economy could be greater in the long run if we do not take such unprecedented measures,” he said.
Continued movement
SINCE the initial implementation of the ECQ on March 17, PHAP members have endeavored to manufacture, import, distribute and make available essential medicines and diagnostics equipment across checkpoints, according to Padilla.
“Our industry has also endeavored to find alternative sources of supplies and new transportation modes, including chartering private aircraft, to bring into the country medicines and medical device, both for Covid-19 and other diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart and respiratory illnesses,” he said. Padilla said PHAP member-firms are accelerating production to manage a good level of inventory.
The group said it is working with the government for the unhampered transport and distribution of medicines from ports to end-users.
However, the PHAP is asking that government also provide alternative routes, especially to and from Metro Manila, for the continued movement of these medicines in cases of port closures.
Once in ports, the immediate release of medicines is necessary, he said, because these are often “urgently needed by patients in hospitals” or by those who are “taking medications at home.”
He explained: “Expedited clearance especially for products that are temperature-sensitive is important. Some medicines also require specific storage temperature to retain its safety and efficacy. Some products, such as certain vaccines as well as other medicines needed for Covid-19 need to be transported within a cold chain and stored at -20-degrees Celsius.
“Every step of the way, we are responsible in protecting the integrity of the supply chain.”
Conduct in work
BUT the absence of a vaccine for the disease prompts officials to rely on the following survival measures: physical distancing, basic hygiene, use by health workers of personal protective equipment (PPE); and, access to testing kits to restore a semblance of normalcy in business operations. These, even after the lifting of the ECQ expected on the eve of Labor Day.
However, as in many proposed solutions, the devil is in the details.
For some businesses, these are unnecessary since their workers can work from home.
For those who can’t and need their employees to be onsite and working in close proximity with one another, threshing out the details for such policies will be crucial.
“In production lines workers should be obliged to wear face mask and congregation in offices, pantries, comfort rooms, canteens and locker rooms should be prohibited for everyone’s safety,” Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chairman Renato G. Magtubo told the Businessmirror.
Operating mass transport THERE is also the concern of public utility vehicles (PUVS), which will no longer be allowed to ply their routes in full capacity due to physical distancing.
However, this “means their [PUV drivers] earnings would be cut in half at best,” Federation of Free Worker Vice President (FFW) Julius Cainglet said.
“Would government be willing to shoulder the cost of their lost incomes? Would they promote fare hikes themselves?,” Cainglet asked.
Cainglet’s concern is shared by the PCCI, which is requesting that public transport be included in the list of essential services allowed to operate under the ECQ.
This, the employers’ group said, should ensure that workers can move freely from home to site, removing the need for firms to find temporary houses for their personnel.
“For companies that were allowed to continue their operations amid the ECQ , restrictions on public transportation have disrupted the mobility of workers and posed additional costs to employers. Many business process outsourcing companies, for example, are giving remaining on-site staff temporary accommodation,” the statement read.
In permitting modes of mass transport to ply their routes under the lockdown, their operators should implement social distancing policies to ensure public health is not compromised.
The PCCI is also pitching for a unified queuing and dispatching scheme similar to what Singapore and Japan are doing under their quarantine.
Occupational safety
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it is still waiting for the recommendation of a technical work group (TWG) before it starts crafting specific guidelines for the labor sector.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said they already convened the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) to start getting inputs from business and labor representatives on the matter.
Bello said he has assigned a labor official to come out with an initial study for the “preparation for a post-covid scenario.”
Former dean of University of the Philippines-school of Labor and Industrial Relations Rene E. Ofreneo said the DOLE will have its work cut out for it.
Ofreneo noted that addressing these matters should go beyond just consultations. He also urged the labor department to conduct onsite study to determine specific nuances per industry, especially since such physical distancing has yet to be fully included in existing occupational safety and health (OSH) standards.
“The Secretary and his top officials should try working at the shop floor for at least a few days, to find out what works and what doesn’t,” Ofreneo said.
The former labor undersecretary also suggested that DOLE look into the experience of other countries like Sweden, which allowed the continuation of business operations, although at a limited scale, despite the pandemic.
Measures for MSMES
WHILE the labor sector grapples with OSH issues, Salceda is forwarding transitional measures that emphasize support to micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMES).
These measures must include the following: regulatory and taxpayer relief for MSMES; MSME regularization program; temporary bridging loans for MSMES; waiving of fees, charges and other friction costs; and, wage subsidies.
“The objective of these transitional measures is to ensure that MSMES are able to avail program and to broaden the tax base and encourage business practices that are compliant with the law,” Salceda said.