While the record P12.68-trillion national debt is manageable and vital for the country's continued growth, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose 'Joey' Concepcion III said the public must still focus on the ongoing threat of Covid-19 slowing down economic activity.
Concepcion made this statement after the Bureau of Treasury noted that the country's outstanding debt climbed to P12.68 trillion in March 2022, a 17.7-percent annual increase.
In a statement, Concepcion said that paying back the country's debts depends on its population staying healthy.
"We can’t manage debt and Covid at the same time," he said Friday, May 6.
"There is nothing wrong with having debt; we need it to bring greater growth. But it assumes that the economy is running smoothly and Covid will not shut us down again. That’s why it’s important to keep our wall of immunity strong and continue to vaccinate," he added.
The Go Negosyo founder said that while everybody's attention shifted to the elections, Filipinos still need to be vigilant, especially after the country's vaccination rate fell to an average of under 100,000 per day in the last seven days based on the National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard.
"If our cases go up and we have to restrict mobility again, how are we supposed to generate enough revenue to pay the taxes we need to pay back our national debt?” he asked.
“We need to increase vaccinations so we can continue as planned and pay back our debt,” he added.
Key indicators have not raised concerns even as mobility increased throughout the country. Healthcare utilization rates are a key indicator for the government to enforce stricter mobility restrictions, which, Concepcion said, will hamper the country's continued economic recovery, especially its micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The MSMEs have very limited elbow room when it comes to cash flow. They are only starting to recover from the last two years, and some of them have loans to repay. Any disruption at this point would be disastrous for them,” he said.
The Philippines remains at a low-risk classification, although the World Health Organization has warned that active cases may reach 300,000 this month if the public does not observe established protocols to avoid infection.
The entry of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12 has been confirmed in the Philippines, and infection rates are being closely monitored.