By Raymund Antonio Anticipating the normal life that people have known will not be back soon, Vice-President Leni Robredo said the public, as well as private businesses, must innovate and adapt to the changing conditions of the times, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Vice President Leni Robredo
(Charlie Villegas, OVP / MANILA BULLETIN) “I think, over the next few weeks or so, we will have our hands full trying to innovate and trying to prepare ourselves for the new normal. But marami tayong hinahabol (we have a lot of catching up to do),” she said in Manila Bulletin Lifestyle’s Youth Talk. Robredo, a lawyer, said there is no other time than now to prepare for the so-called new normal, when the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is lifted in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. “Ito siguro kaibahan ng Pilipinas din kasi (This could also be the difference with the Philippines because) not everything is in place yet, so itong nangyayari sa atin (what’s happening to us) is also a time for us to take stock of ano ba iyong mga kulang (what we lack),” she said. “Kasi hindi puwedeng kapag dumating na naman ito later on at saka pa lang tayo mag-aayos. Dapat itong panahon na binibigay sa atin, ito iyong pag-aayos (Because we can’t just fix things when they come later on. This time we have should be spent preparing for them),” Robredo stressed. The vice-president called for innovative measures for the transition to the new normal, with the eventual downgrading of 41 provinces and 10 cities to a general community quarantine (GCQ), while “low-risk” areas would be placed on a modified GCQ on May 16. Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Laguna will be kept under a modified ECQ until May 31. Under a modified ECQ, limited movement for essential goods and services will be allowed. Selected manufacturing and processing industries will also be opened, with a maximum workforce pegged at 50 percent. Robredo said stronger cooperation among private businesses is needed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that big companies could conduct rapid testing for their own employees who would be asked to report back to work later. “Readiness is really relative. It will depend on government policies. It will also depend on how our companies are retro-fitting themselves to be resilient enough to withstand the continuation of the abnormalities that continue to prevail in our midst,” she said.