Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion
MANILA – Business owners are appealing to the government to place Metro Manila under a lower alert level in November amid the declining number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
In a statement Thursday, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said the business sector is hoping that NCR will be placed under Alert Level 2 next month that would allow more capacity for indoor and outdoor operations of businesses.
Concepcion cited data from OCTA Research indicating that Covid-19 cases in the country could decrease to less than 2,000 per day by the end of November.
“This is certainly good news for business establishments as they would be getting closer to their ultimate goal of operating at full capacity. This is important for business as this would give them a chance to cover operational expenses such as workers’ salary and supply, among others,” he added.
He said that as operating capacity increases, more jobs will be brought back in the labor market.
NCR is currently at Alert Level 3 and establishments are allowed to operate at 30 percent indoor capacity but only for fully vaccinated individuals and 50 percent for outdoor activities regardless of vaccination status.
Moving to Alert Level 2 will allow establishments to operate at 50 percent for indoor services and 70 percent for outdoor activities.
“Increasing capacity would require additional manpower, which is also a welcome development for those who temporarily lost their jobs or are currently working on alternate shifts just to give everyone a chance to earn. Now they also have an opportunity to earn a living for their family’s needs,” Concepcion added. (PNA)
