Solon sees ‘very substantial economic impact’ of 2019-nCoV to PH 

MANILA, Philippines — A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday emphasized the need for contingency plans amid the threat of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) not only to public health but to the country’s economy as well.

AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin, chair of the House committee on economic affairs, specifically cited the possible effect of the 2019-nCoV to the Philippine tourism industry, which contribute about 13 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Garin said that Chinese nationals make up 20 percent of the tourists that visit the country – an equivalent of 2.2 percent of the country’s GDP.

“We need to coordinate with all the agencies concerned so that we can address what if we lose all this 20 percent of our tourists. What do we do? What are our alternatives? And that, we have yet to discuss with the Department of Tourism (DOT),” Garin said in a press briefing in Quezon City.

Garin also expressed concern about the workers in the tourism industry who might lose jobs.

“This has a very substantial economic impact and we need to address that,” she pointed out.

Garin said her committee and the House committee on tourism chaired by Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones are working on setting up a meeting with concerned government agencies to discuss possible measures to address the looming problem.

This meeting could happen on Tuesday next week, according to Garin.

“This is a problem not only of China but of the rest of the world. We need to address this not only on the health side but also in the economic side kaya kailangan talaga itong I-tackle ng mga dito sa Kongreso (so we really need to tackle this here in Congress) especially economic affairs and tourism,” Garin said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a temporary travel ban on visitors coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau as a part of the country’s efforts to avoid the spread of the 2019-nCoV.

Prior to the issuance of the ban, several airline companies have already announced the cancellation of their flights to and from China and its special administrative regions.

Citing data from DOT, Garin said the ban covers about 360 inbound and outbound flights at different international airports of the country.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday called on the House committees on tourism and economic affairs to work with DOT to assess the short- and medium-term effects of the novel coronavirus in the tourism sector.

“It should not be a just a wait-and-see attitude because we don’t want our tourism industry to suffer,” Cayetano said.

Data from DOT show that 1.63 million of the total 7.4 million international tourist arrivals from January to November of 2019 were Chinese.

Further, Chinese nationals are also considered the second biggest tourist spenders in the Philippines next to the South Koreans, spending $979.4 million or around P51 billion in the country in the first half of 2019.

Edited by KGA