DTI READIES NEW LIST OF BIZ FOR REOPENING
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will issue next week the reclassified list of business activities allowed to operate during the quarantine, as it eyes to reopen the economy further to minimize revenue losses and boost the return to work.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Tuesday said the DTI is in the process of reclassifying the industries authorized to do business during the quarantine. Although a number of activities will remain shut under the new guidelines, he hinted that several of those previously prohibited will soon be permitted to operate.
“We can live with the virus, and that’s the mindset now. We just have to manage it. The virus is here to
stay, but we should slowly reopen the economy,” Lopez told reporters.
“Even under MGCQ [modified general community quarantine], I think there are activities which we can consider too risky to allow. These activities require people to stay close to each other, with no social distancing in place,” he added.
Asked what industries will be kept suspended for the duration of the quarantine, Lopez said
the DTI has yet to finalize the list, but will likely release it next week the latest.
“There are only a few activities left under Category IV that are barred under GCQ and will open only under modified GCQ. There are activities in which social distancing will be difficult to do. We are assessing those activities. Hopefully, by this week or next week, we can issue the new classifications,” Lopez explained.
10 categories
UNDER Memorandum Circular 20-33, at least 10 types of business establishments in Category IV are prohibited from operating in areas under general community quarantine.
They are Internet and computer shops; education establishments; entertainment industries; kid amusement parks; libraries, museums and cultural centers; tourist spots; travel agencies, tour operators and reservation services; personal-care services; and petgrooming services. Fitness studios in GCQ areas may operate as long as they engage in noncontact sports only.
If there is one thing certain, some activities under Category IV will remain in that classification for the duration of the quarantine, the trade chief said.
“Once the quarantine is lifted, when it is already new normal, we will authorize them [industries under Category IV] to open. It’s just that as long as we have quarantine, it will be difficult for us to allow those activities because we think it is too risky,” he explained.
In line with the move to reopen the economy further, the DTI last week issued a memorandum circular increasing the dine-in capacity of restaurants and fast food in GCQ areas to 50 percent, from 30 percent, and in MGCQ areas to 75 percent, from 50 percent.
Lopez is asking local government units to extend curfew hours up to 12 midnight to allow food services to operate at least until 11 in the evening. He argued that longer hours of operations would cut the revenue losses of firms, as well as improve the income of workers.
According to Lopez, restaurants and fast food were far from breaking even at the previous dine-in capacity of 30 percent, and increasing it to 50 percent gives them the opportunity to recover lost revenue from the lockdown.
Whether the country is ready to reopen the economy further from a public health viewpoint is a different question, however. Local Covid-19 infections could reach 85,000 with 2,000 deaths by the end of July, according to experts from the University of the Philippines.
As of July 21, there are 70,764 cases in the Philippines, one of the highest tallies in Southeast Asia. Total deaths now stand at 1,951.