At least 500,000 Filipinos could regain their jobs once the reopening of personal care establishments and indoor dining in restaurants are allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

If this happens, the one million displaced workers within the National Capital Region (NCR)-plus will be reduced in half.

DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said during a televised interview Thursday, April 29, that they are seeking the approval of the IATF on the reopening of personal care establishments such as salons, barbershops, and spas, as well as the return of indoor dining set-ups in restaurants.

“DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez is really pushing for the reopening of personal care services because we have around 400,000 workers in the salon and barbershop businesses alone that could gain their employment back, the spas are not even part of that yet and then the restaurants, we are recommending to allow dine in but in a small percentage,” Castelo said in Filipino.

The undersecretary further said that they are also recommending outdoor salon and barbershop set-ps to sway the IATF into finally reopen the industry.

“For salon we are expecting a 50 percent reopening and then we're also recommending the outdoor services on personal care where barbershops and salons can set up an outdoor space for their services. This is to convince the IATF to allow at least 50 percent of their operations,” Castelo added.

She said the DTI is seeking the green light for indoor dining in at least a 10 percent capacity, with a commitment from restaurants to strictly observe mandatory health protocols.

Around 100,000 workers is estimated to regain their employment once indoor dining is allowed under the current community quarantine status.

“Secretary Lopez is making a very strong recommendation to the IATF to ease up a little bit so that we can reopen more businesses, especially the labor intensive ones while complying with the mandatory health protocols,” Castelo said.