Partial reopening of economy urged
DEPUTY Speaker and 1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Mikee Romero on Friday urged the Duterte administration to partially open the economy, especially the tourism and retail sectors to vaccinated returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and foreigners after an estimated one billion people across the world received their coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) jabs.
Romero, an economist, said now is the time to start opening other sections of the economy to returning OFWs, locals, and foreigners who got their COVID jabs in line with efforts to provide jobs and help the country’s economy return to a growth trajectory.
“Let us reopen the tourism and retail sectors to welcome fully-vaccinated tourists and returning Filipinos,” Romero, president of the 54-strong Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI), said.
“Let us open our country to all the fully vaccinated people so that our hotels, airlines, restaurants, shopping malls, and related retail establishments can operate at full capacity,” Romero stressed.
He noted that “there are already one billion people out there who were vaccinated twice.”
“We should let them in as long as they present their valid vaccination cards upon boarding at point of origin,” Romero stressed.
Romero said he wants the government to “partially open up the country with the tourism and retail sectors for starters.”
“Filipinos need jobs, food, and other basic needs. This is the only way!” Romero explained.
“We cannot sit and just wait for the world to revolve. We already did the world’s longest lockdown. Government has to be proactive, we need to progress, move forward,” Romero said.
“Pagdating ng mga bisita natin dito sa Pilipinas, we can have them undergo COVID-19 swab test again, para doble-sigurado. Importante ‘yan,” Romero proposed.
