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Philippines: GDP gains P32 billion weekly at lowest alert level
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy can gain around P32 billion per week once the pandemic alert in Metro Manila and the rest of the country is eased to the lowest level.
During a webinar organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines yesterday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said Metro Manila would gain P3.6 billion per week if it will shift to Alert Level 2.
It will also bring back 16,000 jobs on a weekly basis, he said.
Once it shifts to Alert Level 1, a bigger P10.3 billion per week will be gained in the capital. It can also provide 43,000 jobs weekly.
For areas outside Metro Manila, shifting to Alert Level 2 will yield approximately P4.7 billion and 20,000 jobs per week.
Easing to the lowest Alert Level 1 will create an additional P13.3 billion in economic output and 56,000 in employment.
Thus, a total of about P32 billion per week will be gained across the country if restrictions are fully relaxed.
The computations were based on the National Economic and Development Authority’s analysis on the weekly improvements of the gross domestic product (GDP) every time there is movement from one alert level to another.
The capital, where the bulk of economic activities are situated, is under Alert Level 3 until end-October. Alert Level 3 allowed more businesses to operate and indoor venue capacities of certain establishments were increased.
Recreational venues such as internet cafes, arcades, bowling alleys, skating rinks, archery halls, swimming pools and cinemas were also allowed for fully vaccinated individuals.
For the two-week period of Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila from Oct. 16 to 31, the economy gained P5.8 billion per week or a total of P11.6 billion.
It also reduced unemployment by 48,000 for two weeks.
In areas outside the capital, some P7.5 billion per week was added upon the shift to Alert Level 3, and another P13.2 billion from Alert Level 4.
This translated to additional 31,000 and 561,000 jobs, respectively.
Prior to the easing to Alert Level 3, the capital stayed under Alert Level 4 for one month, allowing it to gain some P374.8 billion or roughly P93.7 billion per week.
It lessened joblessness by as much as 1.58 million over a month.
The alert level in Metro Manila has been eased following the declining COVID-19 cases complemented by higher vaccination rates.
“There are very clear indicators why opening the economy will have a direct impact,” Chua said.
“We have been convincing everyone that we need to balance. We are concerned about COVID-19 and Delta but we are also concerned about the hungry and jobless people and the children,” he said.
Chua maintained that the move to implement the alert level system complemented by granular lockdowns in certain areas is aligned with the government’s target to achieve its four to five percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2021.
Chua is also backing proposals to raise the passenger capacity in public transport.
He noted that there is an opportunity to review the current capacity as more people are getting vaccinated and lower cases are being recorded.
Further, Chua reiterated his position to prioritize the reopening and let the economy function normally rather than outright providing another stimulus package.
“If you give a stimulus, then there should be a way for people to spend it. But if you lock down the economy at various levels, there will be little opportunity for that stimulus to be used,” Chua said.
“To safely reopen the economy is the best and most sustainable way to get the economy started and people getting income and addressing their needs. That will create an effect to create more sales, hire more people, provide more taxes to the government and use that for more targeted support to sectors who really need it,” he said.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/10/29/2137362/gdp-gains-p32-billion-weekly-lowest-alert-level