Recovery plan to bring PH economy to pre-pandemic level

MANILA – Implementation of a recovery plan along with the vaccination of more Filipinos is necessary to bring the Philippine economy back to its pre-pandemic level, Malacañang said on Monday.

This, after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported that the Philippine economy is expected to return to its pre-pandemic level in 2022 or early 2023.

“Kinakailangan po talaga na magpabakuna pa tayo ng mas marami nating mga kababayan, buksan pa po natin ang ating ekonomiya, ipagpatuloy na po natin itong pilot face-to-face schooling at mag-implement po tayo ng recovery plan (We need to vaccinate more of our countrymen, open the economy, continue this pilot face-to-face schooling and implement a recovery plan),” Roque said in a virtual press briefing.

In the same media briefing, Education Secretary Leonor Briones announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in areas classified with “minimal risk” for the coronavirus.

Briones said the schools for pilot in-person classes, expected to begin in two months, should pass the Department of Education’s safety assessment qualifications.

“Local governments must allow it because they will host the face-to-face classes. There also must be written consent from the parents that they will allow their children to join the pilot classes,” Briones said.

She said only about 100 public schools nationwide located in minimal risk areas and a limited number of learners would be allowed to participate.

Roque said the conduct of pilot face-to-face classes is not only an issue of education but issues of mental health of students and of the economy.

“Sisimulan na po natin ang ating pilot face-to-face. Ito po ay isang maliit na hakbang pagbalik po sa buhay ng nalaman natin bago ang pandemya. Kinakailangan po kabit-bisig, magtulungan. Makakaraos din po tayo (We will now start our pilot face-to-face classes. This is a small step back to the life we know before pandemic. We need to help each other. We will survive) and we will heal as one,” Roque said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier reported that the country’s recovery program has been in place since last year.

“Implementing this will help the economy recover and businesses to get back to their feet,” Chua said.

Chua noted the government has installed a three-pillar strategy to facilitate the economy’s recovery by 6 to 7 percent in 2021 and return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.

The implementation of the economic recovery package is the second component of the abovementioned three-pillar strategy, which consists of a combination of fiscal, monetary, and financial instruments totaling about PHP2.8 trillion, or 15.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.