Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said the arrival of Sinovac vaccines from China and of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility marked the start of the country's economic recovery.
He recommended that the entire country be placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) as the vaccination started to boost domestic tourism to recover faster and allow the economy to open more.
"This is the last and only chance for our micro and small entrepreneurs (MSMEs) to come back strong and utilize the fourth quarter as the start of their bounce back," he noted.
A Dose of Hope A total of 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through "A Dose of Hope" program are expected to arrive in the country by May.
"A Dose of Hope" is an initiative of the private sector, led by Concepcion, to donate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.
"The third quarter will be where the remaining 14 million doses will be delivered, this included the second batch of orders from the private sector and the local government units," Concepcion said.
Moderna and Novavax COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in the third quarter.
If the vaccine inoculation goes well during the second and third quarter, Concepcion reiterated the Philippine economy would see an economic rebound by the fourth quarter.
"The last quarter of 2021 which is Christmas, I believe is going to be the chance for many of our MSMEs to get back on their feet. That should be the time the economy must really be bouncing back," Concepcion said.
"That's why we are putting a lot of pressure on the arrival of the vaccines and the implementation has to be excellent. Upon the arrival of the vaccines, people must be vaccinated so that by fourth quarter, consumer confidence would increase. Then we'll have spending because of the Christmas season and the elections which would complement the numerous stimulus packages such as the Bayanihan 2, the CREATE bill (The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act), and the proposed Bayanihan 3," he added.