Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) President John Carlo Tria. (PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY – The local economy has continued pacing towards recovery as more businesses reopen and adapt to the new normal,
the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) said in a statement Thursday.
"The critical point in our recovery was when we emerged from enhance community quarantine (ECQ) and transitioned to general community quarantine (GCQ) in May. As public transport returned, many businesses decided to safely open while observing precautions as their employees could report for work, and businesses started adapting and doing more deliveries, going online and catering to more customers, for example," DCCCII said in a statement signed by its president, John Carlo Tria.
The DCCCII noted that most local businesses are already into the second month of operations since the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic was announced in March.
"So as modified GCQ is upheld, we expect the recovery to continue," the business group said, referring to the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Disease's (IATF-EID) decision to retain Davao City's quarantine status.
Likewise, Tria said many businesses throughout Mindanao managed to resume operations as early as June as issues hounding the movement restrictions in the transport have been resolved.
Tria also lauded the efforts of the city government on the tax amnesty and relief measures given to the taxpayers.
On Tuesday, The City Council here approved three remedial measures for businesses consisting of payment extension, tax amnesty for delinquent real property taxpayers, and the 60-percent reduction on the rental fees on commercial government stalls or booths.
“We would like to thank the city government for these initiatives and acknowledge the efforts to establish digitalized processes including online payments for transactions with the city government. This helps make transactions easier and safer. They are a big help to our local businesses that all need to adapt to new normal," Tria added.
As the local economy continues to recover, Tria appealed to the business community to continue following the minimum health standards.
"Let us remain calm, and importantly, follow health protocols such as wearing of facemasks in public, practice physical distancing and regular handwashing especially in our offices and workplaces, and remain strict on our own measures. Let us also continue to find new ways of engaging our business under the new normal. Our recovery will continue" he said. (PNA)
