The government should now move to aggressively reopen the economy further, with daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines plateauing below 3,000.
Millions of Filipino workers are itching to go back to their jobs but strict quarantine measures are holding them back. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III urged the country’s COVID-19 task force early this week to ease several forms of quarantine measures in the country that led to the closure of many businesses and displaced workers.
One telling data supports Mr. Dominguez’s plea. The country’s franchising sector saw a sharp decline of about 35 percent in the number of franchisees to 130,000 so far this year from 200,000 in 2019 after the health crisis forced many enterprises to close shop.
The drop, according to the Philippine Franchise Association, would be carried over to 2021 amid the lingering effects of the pandemic on the economy. The group sees another 20,000 franchisees eventually halting operations next year. The Philippines will be left with 110,000 franchisees in 2021, or 90,000 fast-food, outlets, gas stations and mall stores going out of business.
Close to 300,000 workers in the sector alone will have lost their jobs in 2021 on the assumption that each franchised outlet employs a minimum of three people. Along with their dependents, these jobless persons will be a burden to the economy and contribute further to the contraction of the gross domestic product.
Reopening further the economy, specifically through the resumption of public transportation, will re-employ those who lost their jobs to the pandemic. The increased number of workforce, for one, will lead to more visits in the mall which, in turn, fuel consumption in restaurants and raise the sales of department stores. These generate additional jobs and boost the overall economy.
Reopening is the only way to prevent a prolonged recession in the Philippines as the World Bank has warned. It is also safe to assume that workers who have been locked up in their homes are responsible people who know how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Several months of lockdowns have taught them to be safe and be wary of the virus.