Pag-revise sa 2022 economic growth targets sa gitna ng expanded Alert Level 3, masyado pang maaga- NEDA

MASYADO pang maaga para baguhin ng economic managers ang growth targets para sa 2022 sa gitna ng pinalawig na Alert Level 3 sa Kalakhang Maynila at 50 iba pang lugar hanggang katapusan ng Enero.

“With respect to the target for the year, it’s still early days to be revising it whether upwards or downwards because it’s just January 18,” ayon kay National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon sa isinagawang Presidential Communications and Operations Office’s (PCOO) virtual press briefing.

Target ng mga economic manager na kasama sa Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), na kinabibilangan ng mga hepe ng Budget and Management, Finance, at Socio economic Planning na gawing 9% ang dating 7% gross domestic product (GDP) growth para sa 2022.

Nauna nang sinabi ng mga economic managers na “the Philippine economy stands to lose P3 billion each week the National Capital Region (NCR) and its four adjacent provinces are under Alert Level 3.”

Ang NCR at karatig-lalawigan nito ay nasa ilalim ng Alert Level 3 simula Enero 7. Pinalawig ng pamahalaan ang alert level hanggang katapusan ng buwan kasama ng mas maraming lugar sa bansa.

Sa ilalim ng Alert Level 3, may ilang establisimyento ang pinayagan na mag-operate ng 30% indoor venue capacity subalit “exclusively” para lamang sa mga fully vaccinated na indibiduwal at 50% outdoor venue capacity para sa mga empleyado na fully vaccinated.

Ang In-person classes, contact sports, funfairs/perya, at casinos ay kabilang sa mga aktibidad at establisimyento na ipinagbabawal sa ilalim ng Alert Level 3.

“Despite the projected billions of pesos worth of economic productivity while the most areas of the country are under Alert Level 3,” ayon kay Edillon.

Sinabi pa niya na “there’s still a lot of developments that can happen, hopefully positive developments.”

“The alert level system is more of a balancing act with respect to health and economic objectives,” dagdag na pahayag nito sabay sabing “the losses under the alert level system are “much tamer” compared to the community quarantine system implemented in 2020 and 2021.”

Kumbinsido naman si Edillon na ang pagpapaigting sa vaccination drive ng pamahalaan ay “very good protection” para sa public health at economic sectors.

Samantala, sinabi ni economic team na nilikha ng pamahalaan ang 10-point policy agenda para i-shift ang bansa mula sa pandemic tungo sa endemic paradigm.

Sakop ng 10-point policy agenda ang mga sumusunod na lugar gaya ng metrics; vaccination; healthcare capacity; economy and mobility; schooling; domestic travel; international travel; digital transformation; pandemic flexibility bill; at medium-term preparation para sa pandemic resilience.