Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III meanwhile called for the opening of the economy, especially in Metro Manila and the Calabarzon region, saying that Filipinos should learn to live with the “new reality” that the virus was not going away anytime soon, “and we’d have to live with it for a long period of time.”
In a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Dominguez said Metro Manila and Calabarzon should move to a modified general community quarantine level as soon as possible “because people have to start working.” Dominguez noted that 67 percent of the industries and businesses in the country are based in the two areas, which remain mostly under general community quarantine. Only barangays and companies that report an increase in COVID-19 cases should be put on lockdown, he said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque meanwhile said the administration was moving toward opening up the economy “so that people will now have a livelihood and not just be alive physically,” he said in a television interview. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said he supported Dominguez’s proposal to ease restrictions in the country’s two main business centers, adding that prolonging strict quarantine measures in Metro Manila and Calabarzon would further cripple the economy.
LeilasINQ tip: humingi ng balato kay herminio.
LeilasINQ hopefully kasama na dyan ang ABS numbers?