1 Million Employees Still Without Work According to DTI Estimates

The NCR Plus Bubble was recently put under a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) but at least 1 million employees are still unable to return to their work, said Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Around 1.5 million employees were left jobless during the two-week Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), according to the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) estimates. This is much higher than the Philippines Statistics Authority’s (PSA) report of 250,000.

Only 500,000 employees are able to return to their jobs within the week of the estimated 1.5 million, leaving 1 million without work, said Lopez. This is largely due to the fact that many sectors, both essential and non-essential, are still not allowed to operate at full capacity.

Restaurants, for instance, are allowed to operate at 50% capacity but remain limited to outdoor or alfresco dining instead of dine-ins for customers. Most restaurants have resorted to delivery services as an alternative.

Non-essential manufacturing is also allowed at 50% capacity as well. Other sectors like outdoor contact sports, personal care services, and amusement parks remain closed.

The expected date for the NCR Plus Bubble to be downgraded to the more relaxed General Community Quarantine (GCQ) is April 30. Lopez believed, based on his discussions, that many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would prefer to remain closed until then.

He further expressed his hope that the number of Covid cases will significantly drop with strict implementation of health protocols, additional healthcare facilities, and faster contact tracing.

Lopez also presented proposals that are aimed to extend assistance to MSMEs like providing subsidies for operating expenses. MSMEs, on the other hand, also recommended other relief measures like temporary suspension of loan payments, the extension of loan terms, and deferment of rents.

These suggestions will be taken into consideration since these are included in the Bayanihan Act 2, which was also extended to this year, said Lopez.

Additionally, SB Corp., the government’s microlending arm, still has zero-interest and collateral-free funds to lend to MSMEs. SB Corp. was allotted ₱10 billion, ₱4 billion of which was for MSMEs while the remaining ₱6 billion was for tourism. Of the ₱4 billion reserved for MSMEs, ₱3.3 billion loans have already been released to around 25,000 applicants.

Source: Manila Bulletin