The National Capital Region may "possibly" shift to a modified general community quarantine following implementation of vaccination program, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.
NCR may ease to MGCQ by April, according to Finance Secretary Dominguez
WITH the government’s top economic managers making a strong push to place the entire country under the more lenient modified general community (MGCQ), there is great likelihood that Metro Manila will possibly shift to MGCQ by April following the initial implementation of mass vaccination.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and the rest of President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team are studying whether or not shifting Metro Manila to MGCQ is feasible considering the need to revive the pandemic- hit economy in the soonest time possible.
As it is, Metro Manila, the center of the country’s economic and financial activities and once its economy gets going, the whole country is sure to follow.
But President Duterte needs to weigh the balance carefully especially since the bulk of Covid-19 vaccines are yet to arrive and the current shots are only reserved for priority groups like frontline medical workers, soldiers and the police.
In 2020, the country’s GDP contracted by 9.5%. This was because more than three-quarters of the year was spent on a COVID-19 lockdown, which led to a recession.
Many businesses shut down and millions of people were laid off from their jobs.
On the other hand, the government is working on restoring economic growth this year which explains why easing quarantine restrictions and adjusting the economy to the new normal is on their priority list.
The pandemic still brings a lot of risks and threats, but the National Economic Development Authority aims to combat them with economic measures overseen by the Philippine government. (Erin Fay Ocampo)