PARTIDO Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. has pointed out that one positive outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is that it brought out the entrepreneurial skills of Filipinos, which could help in the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

Speaking at the Kandidatalks program of the Go Nego Show, Marcos said the pandemic had opened a window of opportunity for independent suppliers and small entrepreneurs to do business as it prompted a change in peoples’ consumer habits.

He added that consumers have become less fastidious about their purchases, with only manufacturers of essential goods allowed to operate during the lockdowns.

“People have changed their consumer habits. Now they are more prone to buy from independent suppliers than they were before, which gives us a lot of hope because the small businesses have an opening there, that’s a window of opportunity right there,” the presidential aspirant noted.

“We no longer choose ‘yung malalaking pangalan lang, kung bibili tayo ng electronics kailangan Sony, pag pagkain, ‘yung mga sikat na lugar, mga sikat na fast-food chains. ‘Yung mga bagay-bagay na binibili natin ngayon, kung saan-saan na natin binibili, hindi na lang sa grocery, hindi na lamang sa supermarket, kung di kung anong makita natin sa Internet,” he added.

Marcos’ economic assessment jibes with the official position of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“There’s good news there, that entrepreneurship is alive in the country and that Filipinos are entrepreneurial. They find ways to earn, especially those who lost their jobs, so they shifted fast and now we’re seeing this growth,” Trade and Industry Sec. Lopez earlier said.

While some businesses are closing, many new enterprises are registering their businesses amid the pandemic.

Lopez said that based on his agency’s survey, 10 percent of business establishments remain closed.

Of the 10 percent closed businesses, 20 percent said they have permanently stopped their operations.

But data from the department show that as of end-August this year, the total number of registered businesses rose to 2.08 million from 1.5 million at end-2019.

There are also five million to six million entrepreneurs in the informal sector.

Marcos said Filipinos, most of whom are very enterprising, turned this into an opening for doing business.

“Maraming nawalan ng trabaho, may mga work-from-home, karamihan hindi makalabas dahil sa lockdown kaya ‘yung iba naghanap ng paraan para makapaghanapbuhay. May mga nagluluto ng kung anu-ano, gumagawa ng iba’t ibang craft tapos ibebenta, lahat over the Internet,” he said.

However, the PFP standard-bearer stressed that the fledgling industry needs a lot of support to reach maximum potential.

“There is a great deal of potential there. But it needs a lot of support. Most people are willing to try to be entrepreneurs. I find most Filipinos enterprising and they are ready to try something. Kung hindi umubra, next, try something else,” he said.