Philippines could sink into recession without community quarantine, says Salceda

The Philippines could sink into economic recession if the government did not implement a community quarantine to stop the further spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Albay Representative Joey Salceda said Sunday.

In the Laging Handa briefing aired on PTV-4, Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said that the novel coronavirus may only be eliminated through a shutdown of the economic activity.

He admitted that while the COVID-19 situation will negatively affect the country's economy, the Philippines stands to lose more if there was no community quarantine.

"Ang virus na ito ay nagta-thrive through economic activity. So kailangan natin talaga na pigilan muna yung pagtakbo ng ekonomiya kaya nga may work stoppage, class suspension," Salceda said.

"Kung hindi natin ito gawin at nagkaroon ng mass community transmission o runaway infections, mas lalong mawawalan ng kumpiyansa sa loob ng ating sistema at lalong lalala, so baka magkaroon ng recession," he added.

Despite this projection, Salceda said he is expecting that the country could still catch up after COVID-19 has been contained.

"Sa pananaw ko ay kaya pa ng Pilipinas na mag-grow faster than the other countries in the world. Nakikita ko kaya pa natin mag-3% GDP growth rate," he said.

Congress will seek to bridge these economic gaps during its special session on Monday to enact measures to respond to the COVID-19 health situation, Salceda added.

During the special session, the lawmakers are expected to approve a bill allowing President Rodrigo Duterte to realign funds to help address the COVID-19 situation in the country. —Erwin Colcol/GMA News