President Rodrigo Duterte might restart key economy of the Philippines after the lockdown eases in mid-May. Government is cautiously considering to modify the lockdown as lifting it might potentially quicken coronavirus transmission.
According to the government’s spokesperson, the lockdown in Metro Manila and central, as well as southern Luzon provinces will eases gradually. However, it will not happen before May 15.
Among the plans to modify the lockdown, President Duterte will allow certain sectors to re-operates again. Of those, construction and other sectors may resume business with a note that social distancing is still into effect.
Non-leisure shops and clothing stores in mall may also reopen as the lockdown eases. Some product manufacturers, real estate and insurance activities will also have the permissions to operate.
That said, some activities that gather many crowds will not receive permissions to operate. For instance, gambling, mass entertainment and sport activities, as well as political gatherings will still be banned.
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How Lockdown Has Affected the Philippines Economically
With the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdown halting economic activities, the Philippines might likely enter a recession this year.
Additionally, the country’s economy is likely to shrink 0.2% this year. Q1 will potentially indicate economic slowdown, while Q2 and Q3 might possibly show contractions.
Philippine government foresees that the economic recovery will start to happen during Q4 and it will bounce back to a growth of 7.7% in 2021. The recovery is based on the assumption that the country succeeds to contain the virus transmission in the second half of the year.
Inflation possibly ranges at the low-end of 2% in 2020 considering the all the damage from the uncertainty in global oil prices, the decline of non-oil prices, and the damage of the pandemic itself.
As of April 24, the country has raised US$6.9 billion for the virus-related loans from multilateral and bilateral sources. Government claims that the country is few among developing countries that can borrow from multilateral institutions at “largely concessional rates.”
Also Read: COVID-19 Spreads Gradually in Philippines