Economic managers to push for MGCQ in NCR in Feb
THE entertainment business in Metro Manila may just open up in time for the love month, as the government plans to relax quarantine restrictions on the nation’s capital in February.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said on Saturday economic managers will propose the lifting in February of the general community quarantine (GCQ) enforced in Metro Manila. However, he made it clear such a decision may only be reached if the region avoids a surge in Covid-19 cases for the rest of January.
“If the numbers would show continued improvement in Covid cases, the economic team, as well as most members of IATF [Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of
Emerging Infectious Diseases], are ready to support the de-escalation to MGCQ,” Lopez told reporters.
Should Metro Manila transition to modified GCQ, this would be the first time the region will do so after nearly a year. Since March in 2020, the nation’s capital has been applied the strictest of lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus, and this has taken away the livelihood of millions of workers and business owners.
That’s why for Lopez, February may just be the right time for the government to lift the GCQ on Metro Manila to complete at last the resumption of its commercial activities.
“We saw Covid cases generally also going down, from 4,000 a day, to less than 2,000 a day, by December and despite the reopening [of the economy],” Lopez argued. “No big holiday surge as well.”
In areas under modified GCQ, business establishments listed as Category IV are authorized to operate at a maximum of 50 percent capacity.
Based on IATF guidelines, Category IV is composed of entertainment industries, including bars, cinemas and theaters, as well as tourist destinations. It also covers language, driving and talent schools; libraries, archives, museums and cultural centers; travel agencies, tour operators and reservation services; personal care services; and full body massage.
Likewise, live events are allowed in MGCQ areas for as long as they comply with the guidelines on meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions issued by the Department of Tourism.
The trade chief argued that extending the GCQ in Metro Manila will only take a toll on its people, as this will keep a select number of shops closed and, in effect, their workers out of jobs. Based on the Labor Force Survey, at least 3.8 million Filipinos are unemployed as of last October in spite of efforts by the government to permit dozens of industries to reopen.
“Prolonged economic downturn will backfire and also lead to poverty and malnutrition, affecting health issues as well and intelligence of children,” Lopez concluded.
As to whether the Philippines, and especially Metro Manila—the epicenter of the virus—is ready to accelerate its reopening from a public health perspective is a different story. The country now has more than 500,000 Covid-19 cases and over 10,000 deaths, and vaccination is only slated to begin in February.