President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers said the imposition of stricter quarantine status over Metro Manila and nearby provinces is a necessary setback in the country’s recovery in the wake of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant.

The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) said on Friday, Jan. 7, that the shift to a stricter Alert Level 3 for National Capital Region (NCR) plus, or Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, will result in an economic productivity loss of about P3 billion per week.

“While this may delay our goal of shifting to Alert Level 1, we believe that this is a temporary setback and is a necessary adjustment in view of the new COVID variant,” said the DBCC, an inter-agency body that sets the country's macroeconomic targets.

The number of cases in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces has been increasing rapidly during the past three-weeks. The positivity rate has also breached the 30 percent mark, well above the World Health Organization’s standard of less than five percent.

The sharp spike in new COVID-19 resulted in higher alert level until Jan. 15.

However, the DBCC said the country is in a better position to manage possible spikes in COVID-19 infections.

“We have enough vaccines and funding for booster shots; we have increased hospital capacity; we now resort to granular lockdowns; and, from all indications, the Omicron variant results in less severe cases, especially to those who are fully vaccinated,” the DBCC said.

As of Jan. 5, a total of 110.9 million doses have been rolled out. Of that number, 57.3 million and 51.1 million doses were administered as the first dose and complete dose, respectively, while 2.5 million doses were administered as booster shots.

Moreover, the DBCC said the recently signed 2022 national budget is the country’s main fiscal stimulus and was crafted with COVID-19 response and recovery in mind.

"We expect to accelerate government spending and help the economy bounce back,” the DBCC said.

In addition, the approved extension of the 2021 General Appropriations Act will also help strengthen the country’s resilience against the emergence of new variants and future economic shocks.

"The economic prospects for 2022 remain promising, but we urge everyone to play their part in the recovery by getting vaccinated, availing of booster shots, and strictly adhering to the minimum public health standards,” the DBCC said.

The Philippines expects its economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), will grow by seven percent to nine percent this year.