BusinessWorld
March 16, 2021 | 12:33 am
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Reporters
THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) backed the imposition of localized lockdowns and curfews by local government units to curb a fresh surge in coronavirus cases, but economists warned this could dampen recovery prospects this year.
This as the Health department on Monday reported 5,404 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, the largest single-day increase since August 2020
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“We have to balance and use the localized lockdown and curfew to reduce cases while allowing the majority who are not affected to work,” NEDA Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said in a Viber message.
Several villages in Metro Manila have been placed under localized lockdowns due to rising infections. Uniform curfew hours were also implemented in Metro Manila.
Palace urged to greenlight legislation to expedite Bayanihan III passage bworldonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bworldonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
rd stimulus package not needed for now
A third round of assistance programs to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is not necessary for now, Malacañang said on Thursday.
“We call our 2021 budget a stimulus package. It includes a trillion for Build-Build-Build, which will provide millions of jobs for our countrymen. For now, we will use our budget as a stimulus. Let’s see first if the (budget) will be effective, otherwise that will be right that we will have a Bayanihan III,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in mixed English and Filipino during a televised news briefing.
Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
MARITES A. SOTELO, 53, owns a small food store near a public school in Alicia, Isabela â scene of some of the worst Cagayan Valley floods after Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco) in November.
That means that on top of the pandemic, which deprived her of her clientele after the schools closed, Ms. Sotelo has had to deal with the economic damage done to her town by the typhoon, which caused the Cagayan River to overflow its banks â to the extent that she wishes for more government aid for small businesses.
Her plight, multiplied millions of times across the country, has helped create unprecedented demand for stimulus funds, with Congress enacting economic revival packages in the hundreds of billions of pesos. Meanwhile, economic managers have tried to persuade legislators to accept smaller amounts, citing limits to the resources available to the government.