President and COO Ramon S. Ang said work on the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) is now more than halfway complete. He noted that around 51 percent of civil works are now completed, including installation of bored piles, girder, and foundational works on stations, while the laying of rails or tracks is ongoing. At least 55 percent of electrical/mechanical works also have been completed, he added. In photo, workers rush the laying of rails or tracks at the portion of MRT 7 project along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
THE Philippine economy lost about P180 billion during the recent two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) amid the displacement of 1.5 million workers, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Thursday.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at the Laging Handa briefing that the recent ECQ is estimated to shave off 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Assuming that the GDP is around P18 trillion, this translates to P180 billion in loss, he explained.
“Yung 1 percent, kung tayo ay may GDP na P18 trillion…ay P180 billion ang estimate na nawala sa ating ekonomiya [The 1 percent, if we have GDP of P18 trillion, is equal to P180 billion in estimated economic loss],” Lopez explained.
Last week, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) estimated that the two-week ECQ would result in income loss of P30 billion.
The National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces, including Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Rizal were placed under ECQ on March 29 to April 11 amid the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. On Sunday, the government eased the lockdown measure in NCR plus to modified ECQ (MECQ) until April 30.
ECQ is the most restrictive lockdown protocol, which meant many establishments were closed, resulting in joblessness.
Based on the labor force survey, Lopez said that some 1.5 million workers were displaced during ECQ but 500,000 of them are likely to have returned already to their jobs during MECQ.
“Sa pamamagitan ng pagbubukas ng ilang sector na napakaimportanteng maibalik, para maibalik ang mga trabaho, at least po ay yun ay binigyan po ng halaga under MECQ, yung jobs na maibalik [By opening up more critical sectors, more can go back to working again under MECQ],” the Trade chief said.
The remaining 1 million, he said, will “hopefully” have their jobs back when the country transitions to less stringent general community quarantine (GCQ).
Lopez explained that MECQ guidelines strictly prohibits high-risk activities to avoid further spread of infection, banning non-essential travels and the likes.
On the other hand, he stressed that MECQ allows low-risk and essential industries to still permit some business activities while attempting to arrest the surging Covid-19 cases.
All establishments allowed to operate under ECQ are permitted to operate at full on-site capacity under MECQ.
Indoor dine-in restaurants are not permitted under MECQ. Outdoor dine-in, meanwhile, is allowed at 50 percent capacity with diagonal seating or acrylic dividers.
All establishments banned from operating during ECQ can operate at 50 percent on-site capacity in MECQ. At the same time, these should also encourage work-from-home and other flexible work schemes if possible.
Under MECQ, the establishments that are not given permission to operate include theaters, cinemas, Internet cafes, amusement parks, casinos, libraries, museums and beauty salons, among others.
The Trade secretary said he will push for GCQ only if there has been a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases and the hospital capacity has improved.
Meanwhile, Lopez said DTI will release an updated survey regarding the current situation of the business operations following the ECQ.
Latest survey revealed that only 4.6 percent of the businesses have stopped operations amid the pandemic, but the Trade chief said that this is expected to go up.
Read full article on BusinessMirror