The government's chief economic manager is hopeful that the Philippines’ coronavirus surge has peaked and daily cases will continue to wane as rollout of the vaccination program against COVID-19 gains speed.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said on Thursday, May 27, that the rapidly expansion of the government’s mass vaccination program will fuel the expected rebound of the domestic economy in the second-quarter.
"There is good news on the horizon, however. In the second quarter of this year, we expect to begin growing our economy again,” Dominguez said in his speech during the virtual general membership meeting of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham).
“We see that the second wave of infections that started at the end of March has subsided dramatically. We hope that this will be the last surge,” he added.
Dominguez said if overseas manufacturers are able to deliver the volume of vaccines as committed and planned, the government will have enough doses to inoculate not only the 70 million Filipino adults. He noted that the current committed vaccine doses can also cover about 15 million teenagers, but this will only be given once an anti-COVID-19 shot for this group is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
"If this happens, then the country can expect a significant containment of infections by the second half of 2021," Dominguez said.
He pointed out that vaccine deliveries have started to pick up, allowing the government to open the inoculation program to frontline workers in the essential sectors of the economy.
“We are also in the process of negotiating for the booster shots next year. The COVID-19 pandemic should soon be contained,” Dominguez said.
He assured Pampanga’s business community that the Duterte administration is fully supportive of small and independent businesspersons as the economy’s recovery relies on their “innovation, dynamism, and boldness in making investments.”
“I encourage you to continue your expansion plans and accelerate the shift to digitalization in order to meet the demands of the New Economy. I also urge you to start adopting measures that would make your businesses climate-resilient and a contributor to our climate mitigation initiatives,” Dominguez said.
He said the country is counting on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to drive its post-pandemic recovery and bring down unemployment and poverty rates, as these businesses employ the majority of workers in our economy.
“Together, let us rise to the present challenges we are facing and build back a stronger economy and a more sustainable future for the Filipino people,” he said.