Philippine Economy
COVID-19
COVID-19, an infectious disease that was first reported to have been transmitted to humans in late 2019, has spread globally over the course of 2020, and in March 2020 it was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. On January 30, 2020, the Philippines reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19. The subsequent spread of the disease has since resulted in 1,367,894 confirmed cases and the death of 23,809 people in the Philippines as of June 22, 2021, according to the Philippine Department of Health. The Government, on a national and local level, has implemented a number of measures in varying degrees to contain the spread of COVID-19, including, among others, social distancing measures, implementation of self-isolation and community quarantine measures, closure of schools, suspension of mass public transport facilities, restrictions on public gatherings, suspension of operations of non-essential businesses and travel restrictions.
Legislative Efforts to Combat COVID-19
Republic Act No. 11523, the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act (the “FIST Act”) was signed into law on February 16, 2021, and became effective on February 17, 2021. The FIST Act is intended to assist banks and other financial institutions by enabling them to sell their non-performing assets and bad loans to asset management companies, referred to as FIST corporations. It aims to strengthen the banking industry’s risk-bearing capacity, and free up capital for productive uses in the economy rather than the management of non-performing loans.
On March 27, 2021, following a sharp spike in new COVID-19 infections, the Government announced that the National Capital Region and the surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, and Rizal (“NCR Plus”), as well as other parts of the Philippines, would be placed under modified enhanced community quarantine from March 29 to April 4, and this date was subsequently extended until May 14, 2021. Following this, the restrictions were eased, and the areas comprising NCR Plus were placed under a general community quarantine. This status continued until June, which saw an increase in COVID-19 cases in other provinces outside the greater Manila region notwithstanding the Government’s vaccination efforts, and which led to the provinces of Cagayan, Apayao, Ifugao, Bataan, Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Sur and the cities of Santiago, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, Naga, Iloilo, Davao, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga City being placed under modified enhanced community quarantine until at least the end of June 2021.
On June 1, 2021, House Bill 9411, otherwise known as the “Bayanihan to Arise As One Act” or the “Bayanihan 3 Act”, which replaced prior House Bill 8628, was approved in the House of Representatives. The Bayanihan 3 Act proposes the disbursement of an additional approximately ₱401 billion for COVID-19 response measures, as well as recovery interventions grounded on economic inclusivity and collective growth. The proposed allocations are as follows: a cash subsidy of ₱216 billion, emergency assistance to households of ₱30 billion, wage subsidies of ₱20 billion, assistance to displaced workers at ₱25 billion, stand-by funds for implementation of the national nutrition program of ₱6 billion, assistance to the agricultural and fishery sectors and cooperatives at ₱30 billion and ₱2 billion, respectively, medical assistance to indigents at ₱9 billion, funding of ₱0.5 billion for free COVID-19 testing for seafarers and overseas Filipino workers, assistance to local governments at ₱3 billion, support for retired military and uniformed personnel of ₱54.6 billion, support of ₱4 billion for the Department of Education’s digital education and IT infrastructure programs to facilitate online learning as well as ₱0.5 billion for teaching and non-teaching personnel in public and private higher education institutions. The bill still must be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the President before it becomes effective.
COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
As of June 19, 2021, a total of 14,205,870 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been delivered to the Government. As of June 20, 2021 a total of 8,407,342 vaccine doses have been administered, with 6,523,400 individuals having received at least their first dose while 2,153,942 having already received the required two doses.
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