BACOLOD CITY –– With the declaration of a community quarantine in Metro Manila, businessmen in this city will have to find ways to keep their businesses afloat.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the quarantine in Metro Manila would surely affect the economy of Negros Occidental, particularly its sugar industry.
“All businesses will be affected by this lockdown from big to small ones. The economy will slow down and we’re just praying that this will only be up to April and, by May, everything would slowly return to normal, he said.
Although their businesses are important, Carbon said they just could not put their employers in jeopardy.
“Our priority is the safety of people. It is more important to save people’s lives,” he said.
Nicholas Ledesma, Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Negros Panay chapter president, said they were keeping a close watch as far as the sugar industry is concerned.
Prices of molasses—a thick syrup that comes from crushed sugar cane or sugar beets and is used for ethanol, potable, and plain alcohol—have risen due to alcohol needs and panic buying.
Ledesma said last week’s prices of molasses hit more than P14,000 per metric ton, which is the highest so far–an increase of P1,000 from the previous week.
Bobby Magalona, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental, said the quarantine in Manila would conservatively cause direct losses of about P100 million in the local economy.
Negros Occidental, he said, gets about 2,000 to 2,500 people coming in from Manila daily.
“Since the summer months are approaching, the number of visitors usually increases so losses will be higher, Magalona said.
Christina Gaston, Association of Negros Producers chairperson, said manufacturers would be affected by the limited movement of goods in and out of Manila.
“We encourage people to buy locally to support our economy,” she said./lzb