FILE PHOTO: Hairdressers at a beauty salon in Quezon City wear surgical gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE) to cut guests hair on Sunday, June 7, 2020, as the Inter-Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) allowed beauty salons and barbershops to reopen under general community quarantine (GCQ). INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry has recommended allowing indoor dining in Metro Manila and nearby provinces despite the continued modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) that’s been imposed on the so-called NCR Plus bubble.
According to Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez forwarded the agency’s proposals to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which included allowing indoor dining at 10 percent capacity and personal care services at 50% capacity.
Castelo explained Thursday that if DTI’s bid gets approved by the IATF, about 500,000 displaced workers will be able to resume their jobs: 400,000 from the personal care service sector and 100,000 from restaurants with indoor dining.
“Kung matutuloy na maka-open sakaling i-approve ng IATF ‘yung personal care services and indoor dining, we will have 400,000 workers doon sa peronal care and another 100,000 sa restauranta na madadagdag sa dine-in,” Castelo said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(If the IATF approves personal care services and indoor dining, the dine-in would employ 400,000 workers and add a further 100,000 workers in restaurants.)
Castelo said roughly 1.5 million workers lost their jobs when the NCR Plus bubble went under stricter ECQ from March 29 to April 12. From this number, 500,000 were able to regain their jobs after the NCR Plus bubble was placed under MECQ from April 12 to April 30.
“Sana ‘yung one million na natitira na walang trabaho, displaced workers, makabalik na kahit kalahati lang,” she said.
(We hope the one million displaced workers will be able to resume their jobs, even if it’s just half.)
On Wednesday night, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that NCR Plus will remain under MECQ from May 1 to May 14.