COVID-19 Restrictions cause Filipinos to lose PHP1.4 trillion in income in 2020

Lockdown restrictions due to the COVID-10 pandemic have caused Filipino families to lose PHP1.4 trillion in income in 2020.

With the huge amount of income lost, the the Philippines can no longer afford any prolonged quarantine, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported.

Per a report by GMA News Online, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the quarantine removed PHP801 billion of spending in 2020, equivalent to PHP2.2 billion daily.

Counting the impact on jobs and the multiplier effect, losses are estimated at PHP1.4 trillion or PHP2.8 billion a day, Chua said.

The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented in March 2020 and has been gradually downgraded to the general community quarantine (GCQ).

Metro Manila remained under GCQ.

Those quarantine restrictions led to an average annual income loss of PHP23,000 per worker, but the average level masks wide differences across sectors and jobs, and some workers are hit harder, especially those who lost employment.

“This translates to significant income loss, significant employment loss, and for the most affected sectors, hunger and possibly higher poverty,” Chua said in a presentation following the release of the fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 economic data.

“Going forward, we cannot afford any more prolonged quarantines or risk aversion. We have to strike that better balance and we will continue to use data both from the economic and the health side to inform our decision and our recommendation to the President,” he added.

Chua was optimistic that the economic situation will improve this year due to continuous calibrated reopening of businesses and mass transportation, as well as the relaxation of age group restrictions and impending availability of COVID-19 vaccines. 

SHARE...