Malacañang hopes that the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period that was imposed between August 9 and 20 in several places in the country, including Metro Manila would be the last one for this year, at least.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual press briefing Monday, August 23 that another lockdown this late in the year would dash projections of positive economic growth.
"Let's just say that we are hoping ," Roque said in response to a reporter's question.
"Kada lockdown natin (For every lockdown) we have to adjust again our economic forecast. So far positive pa rin po ang inaasahan nating economic development (we're still expecting positive development) within the year of 2021.
"Pero another lockdown baka po hindi na natin makamit ang positive growth (But with another lockdown we may no longer achieve positive growth)," he explained.
"We're encouraged by the fact that we had an all-time high for the second quarter when we opened the economy, pero alam naman po natin itong third quarter nagsarado nanaman muli (but as we know, we closed down again this third quarter)," Palace official said.
According to him, part of the reason for implementing the ECQ this August was to "save" the traditionally lucrative Chrisrmas season.
"What we did in declaring ECQ, when we did in August is, we're trying to save the last quarter of the year na normally po ito yung pinaka-productive sa mga negosyo dahil nandyan po ang pasko (which is normally the most productive part of the year for businesses because of Christmas)," Roque said.
The ECQ--the strictest quarantine level possible–was imposed in Metro Manila and other parts of the country as a way to curb the local transmission of the more dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Several government officials have called the latest iteration of the ECQ as a "success".
There have been three separate implementations of ECQ in the country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020