PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte does not agree with the proposal to fully open up the economy, saying the government does not have the funds to address a further increase in cases of coronavirus infection.
He noted that countries which have opened up their economies such as the US, Brazil, Japan and South Korea despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic all experienced a surge in cases.
“So we have to be very circumspect with the opening of the economy. Dahan-dahan lang (Let’s do it gradually),” he said in a public address aired at 1 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
“Because if we open the entire Philippines and thousands upon thousands of new cases would happen, then we are in deep s—t. Talagang mahirapan tayo. Unang-una, wala tayong pera (First of all, we don't have the funds),” he added.
He said countries that have opened up their economies have the funds to address a public health crisis.
“Tayong pobre (Poor countries like ours), we cannot afford really a total epidemic or pandemonium. Mahirap tayo. Di ta puwede sumugal. (We are poor. We cannot take risks.) I cannot follow the example of other countries,” Duterte said.
He said any governance decision should be based on science.
“Governance is not made of guesses. It has to be anchored on pure science,” he said.
As of July 7, coronavirus cases in the Philippines reached 47,873, of which 34,178 were active cases. Of the total, 12,386 have recovered while 1,309 had died.
The Department of Health (DOH) recorded the biggest single-day spike of 2,434 cases on July 5, followed by 2,099 on July 6 and 1,540 on July 7.
Duterte echoed the DOH’s statement that the country is still on the first wave of infections.
“Have we arrived at the second wave? I don’t think so. We are still grappling with the first wave,” he said.
He reiterated his appeal for the people to stay at home and avoid non-essential trips.
The country’s economic team is pushing for the further opening of three regional economies that contribute up to 70 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). These are the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon (Region 4-A) and Central Luzon (Region 3).
The team’s recommendation that these three regions shift to the more relaxed modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) was adopted by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in its Resolution No. 50 approved on June 27, 2020.
To open up these economies, the IATF pushed for expanded testing to include more sectors, reduction in positivity rate to 3.0 percent by end-July from the 7.1 percent positivity rate as of June 28, municipal or barangay-level lockdowns, and safe public transportation.
For July 1 to 15, 2020, NCR and the provinces of Cavite and Rizal in Calabarzon remain under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Under GCQ, some non-essential businesses and public transport systems are allowed to operate at a limited capacity.
Read: Status quo for Cebu’s tri-cities, Metro Manila
Parts of Calabarzon and Central Luzon (Region 3) are under MGCQ “with strict local action”, which means the implementation of localized quarantine and strict enforcement of minimum health standards, among others.
These are Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Angeles City in Central Luzon, and Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Lucena City in Calabarzon.
Only Cebu City, a major economic hub in central Philippines, is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) because of high critical care utilization rate.
Metro Manila, however, accounts for the biggest number of Covid-19 cases in the country with 12,068 active cases out of the total 20,100 cases as of July 4, followed by Central Visayas region with 7,325 active cases out of 8,637, and Calabarzon with 1,551 active cases out of 3,051. Cebu City is in Central Visayas.
Cebu City’s case doubling time of 7.95 days on July 3 was the same as the national rate, but a bit faster than the NCR rate of 8.39 days.
The Philippine economy contracted in the first quarter, with GDP growth falling into negative territory for the first time since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/SunStar Philippines)