DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez
MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez has estimated there are remaining 400,000 to 500,000 jobs lost in the labor market despite the reopening of sectors.
In an interview with Radyo Pilipinas Tuesday, Lopez said the restrictions in other parts of the country have offset the increase in operating capacity of businesses, particularly in Metro Manila and Bulacan which are part of the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus.
Despite being under general community quarantine (GCQ) status from June 16 to 30, Lopez said operating capacity of some sectors in Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal were downgraded as the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections in the areas remain high.
On the other hand, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has increased the operating capacity for some sectors in Metro Manila and Bulacan due to lower daily cases as well as easing of utilization of hospital facilities, he said.
For instance, dine-in capacity in restaurants in Metro Manila and Bulacan was raised from 30 percent to 40 percent, while it was decreased to 20 percent from 30 percent in Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
Lopez cited that while Metro Manila and Bulacan retain the 30-percent capacity for meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) venues and facilities, and 10-percent capacity for social events, the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will ban these events from June 16 to 30.
“There are sectors that we relaxed, but there are some areas also that we restricted,” he said in Filipino.
But from the 1.5 million job shedding estimated during the enhanced community quarantine in the NCR Plus, many jobs were already brought back in the labor market, the DTI chief added.
“The next step here is just to continue the reopening of sectors, but that will only happen if the cases continue to go down,” Lopez said.
He said the continuous and fast rollout of the vaccine program will help in the country’s economic recovery. (PNA)
