The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sees the return of P180 million worth of revenues in the National Capital Region (NCR) per week with the implementation of the new Alert Level System (ALS) for community quarantine.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said at a Palace briefing on Tuesday that allowing 30-percent outdoor and 10-percent indoor capacity for restaurants and personal care services will allow the economy to recoup about 12 percent of the estimated weekly revenues of P1.5 billion.
In addition, he expects about 150,000 to 200,000 jobs recovery, both coming from formal and informal sectors. The trade official noted there are about 1.2 million workers in the restaurant and personal care industries in the NCR.
The said sectors should have been closed, Lopez said, but the Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) requested for partial opening to allow the return of the jobs.
“The only way na makumbinse ang IATF at ang ating mga health expert ay talagang isang maingat na pagbabalik lalo na kapag pinagusapan ang indoor kaya doon lamang kinonsider ’yung having that distinction of vaccinated,” he said.
The 30-percent outdoor capacity is allowed regardless of the vaccination status while the 10-percent indoor capacity is only for fully vaccinated individuals.
According to the IATF, Metro Manila is under Alert 4—a notch below the most restrictive Alert 5—by September 16.
In general, Lopez said that the ALS given its adjustments in the community quarantine measures, referring to granular lockdowns, would allow more businesses to reopen amid the pandemic.
The DTI official, in addition, explained that the new community quarantine guidelines would also allow areas under lockdown to cope better, as this include other parameters such as health-care utilization.
As such, Lopez said the alert level can be brought down, which eases mobility restriction.
Lopez, meanwhile, said the DTI continues to extend assistance to the affected businesses, extending livelihood kits for over 50,000 entrepreneurs nationwide.
“Bigyan natin ng maliit na puhunan para ho may pagkikitaan sila imbes na ibigay po ’yung P8,000 o P10,000 para sa consumption,” he said.
The DTI is yet to finalize its new report about the micro, small and medium enterprises in the country amid the pandemic.
However, he observed that businesses that shutdown shifted to new ventures that can thrive amid the mobility restrictions. These include delivery services and online selling, he cited.