Ekonomiya lalakas kung may kumpiyansa ang publiko na lumabas

Lockdown

ANG kumpiyansa ng publiko na ligtas nang lumabas ang muling magpapalakas sa ekonomiya ng bansa.

At mangyayari lamang umano itong mangyari, ayon kay House committee on ways and means chairman Joey Salceda kung magkakaroon ng malawakang coronavirus disease 2019 testing at tracing.

Wala na umano tayong magagawa sa mga nawalang oportunidad sa bansa at ang mahalaga ay kung papaano makababangon ang ekonomiya.

“That’s said, both those figures are almost entirely behind us now, and any damage those figures would have meant was already incurred. What matter now is how do we recover from this? There is a chance that we might enter a period of positive growth during the year, but that is just as likely as a small contraction by the 3rd and 4th quarters. We will enter positive territory, and achieve a V-shaped recovery if and only if the government does its best to improve business and consumer confidence by actually convincing people that it’s safe enough to buy and sell things. You can’t do that without aggressive and exhaustive mass testing and tracing, and without the right tax and spending signals,” ani Salceda.

Mababalewala umano ang mga pinag-uusapang stimulus package sa Kongreso kung hindi gaganda ang ginagawa ng Department of Health laban sa COVID-19.

“Ultimately, it is all about confidence – confidence in health, confidence in incomes, confidence about employment, confidence in growth in that order.”

Sa unang quarter ng taon ay -0.2 porsyento ang Gross Domestic Product.

Kung negatibo muli ang paglago ng ekonomiya sa ikatlo at ikaapat na quarter ay lubos umanong maaapektuhan ang poverty reduction at countryside development goals ng gobyerno.

“That is why while we still can, we have to boost the economy with the right signals – one, that we are fully capable of rooting out COVID-19, two, that we will support the economy through a sufficient spending plan, and three, that we will support business expansion through CREATE, the new CITIRA.”

Si Salceda ang may-akda ng Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) at Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA).

“Our first aim should have always been to do whatever it takes to test and trace people, and when I called for lockdowns, that was what I always emphasized in the papers I would submit: seize the opportunity to develop testing capacity. The ECQ over Metro Manila may or may not be extended, but the goal should remain the same: test, trace, and treat. There is no way around it.”

“The other task at hand is to assuage the fears of our people – both consumers and producers. We may have to do the buying on behalf of our people at some point. With an aggressive spending plan, we can be the matchmaker to supply and demand when they are reluctant to meet. That will jolt the economy out of its lack of confidence. We have to be prepared to do whatever it takes.”