THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will recommend to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) the gradual return to work of Luzon-based employees after the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) is lifted.
Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror that this would require companies to implement shifting in their staff as well as the continued provision of shuttle service for their workers.
Edillon said this will help maintain physical distancing both in the office and in mass transport systems, and prevent any second-wave transmission of the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19).
“This may require some percent [of their employees] working from home [and/or] having two workshifts. We are hoping, also, that firms would be able to provide shuttle services to their employees,” Edillon said.
Edillon said, however, that the work policies to be implemented in the post-ECQ scenario, which could mean the return to work of employees in May, will still depend on the companies.
She said companies need to assess if they can commit to observe physical distancing, have proper sanitation, and disinfection of public spaces after the ECQ.
This also means ensuring that firms are able to conduct health surveillance of their employees to provide them with adequate protection post-ECQ.
Food consumption
Based on the initial results of the online consumption survey conducted by Neda, Edillon said there is already evidence that Filipino households are scrimping on food.
Edillon said this is part of the many coping mechanisms adopted by Filipinos during the ECQ. She said Neda just hopes that the nutritional requirements of Filipinos will not be compromised at this time.
“We learned that majority of our kababayans reduced food consumption, even those who continued to receive salaries. We hope, though, that nutritional value has not been compromised,” Edillon said.
Reduced food intake is one of the challenges in preventing wasting and stunting, especially among children. When children are undernourished and stunted, they become compromised for life.
The health impact does not stop with their light weight or short heights but also their ability to excel in school and potential to earn a decent living in the future.
Last year, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito said stunting is one of the Philippines’s major development challenges. Habito said this may make these children “mediocre” when they grow up or be workers that have “low productivity.”
While the Philippine population remains young, reaping the full benefits of the demographic dividend from now until 2050 requires having a strong and capable labor force.
Habito said that if the working population is disadvantaged from a young age, the country’s demographic dividend could become a demographic time bomb instead.
Unicef estimated that the Philippines must invest $1 billion in the next 10 years to avoid the triple burden of malnutrition—stunting and wasting; micronutrient deficiency; and obesity.
This translates to an additional investment of $100 million annually or around P5 billion every year. The level of this investment is not that high considering the alternative of underinvestment or worse, business as usual.
If the government continues on this path, the Unicef said the Philippines stands to lose 3 percent of its GDP annually. This equates to $4.5 billion or P220 billion annually.
Clearly, Unicef Philippines Nutrition Specialist Rene Gerard C. Galera Jr. said, investing $100 million annually is cheaper, especially given that a third of Filipino children are already stunted.
Image credits: Roy Domingo