Philippines Must Loosen Covid Curbs More, Economic Planner Says

The Philippines should further reopen and ease mobility restrictions by next month to boost its economy that shrank by a record last year, its chief economic planner said.

The capital region, which accounts for about a third of the economy, should shift to the lowest quarantine level in March along with the rest of the country to restore jobs and ease poverty, Economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said in a presentation for President Rodrigo Duterte Monday night. Income losses due to the lockdown have reached 1.04 trillion pesos ($21.7 billion) in 2020 or about 2.8 billion pesos a day as many businesses can’t reopen, he said.