Economic adviser urges ‘bold moves’ to save final quarter

MANILA, Philippines — The economy could no longer afford another shutdown especially during the year’s final quarter, which is typically the “strongest” for businesses, according to Joey Concepcion, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship.

He said pandemic managers would rather take “bold moves” to quell as early as possible the local transmission of the Delta variant.

Concepcion, who also founded the Go Negosyo initiative, acknowledged serious threats from the more virulent strain of the SARS-CoV-2, but said that “if the coming fourth quarter will be a disaster because of the Delta variant, then the entire 2022 will face a severe challenge.”

Concepcion, along with private sector leaders, met recently with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and medical experts to push for the economy’s safe reopening, despite the Delta variant.

He proposed a policy similar to France’s, in which movement of unvaccinated people is restricted from entering establishments, dining out, to traveling in order to minimize public health risk.

In the same manner, Concepcion proposed to incentivize the fully vaccinated by easing their mobility and reducing mandatory COVID testing.

Concepcion said the government might exert “more pressure” to convince those who still refuse to take the vaccine.

For businesses that aim to fully vaccinate their employees, “incentives can be provided … such as increased operational capacity so they can recover lost revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.

He said he hoped for some “good news” for the business sector when President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his State of the Nation Address on Monday.