BSP chief urges people to go out of their homes even amid COVID-19 to revive economy
By Archie Villaflores
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| PHOTO: ABS-CBN News |
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno
encouraged Filipinos to go out of their homes in a bid to revive the economy
battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, despite health experts' advice discouraging
the public to do so.
In a television report Wednesday, Diokno said people should
stop "cowering" at home to boost the economy noting that visits to
establishments and parks were nearing pre-pandemic levels.
“As of December 29, 2020, visits to places such as grocery
and pharmacy and park have approached their pre-COVID levels,” he said.
“The important thing is [to] gain confidence. We have to
learn to live with the virus. Let s not keep cowering and hiding in our
residences,” he added.
Government officials themselves have repeatedly urged the
public to stay at home in order to avoid the further spread of COVID-19 as what
health experts worldwide suggest.
Meanwhile, Diokno is confident that the Philippine economy
will bounce back from the pandemic by the middle of 2022.
“What we’ve lost last year, we’ll fully recover by middle of
next year. Not optimistic. That s a realistic view of the economy. We have
learned our lessons. And as I said, when the pandemic hit us, we were in a
position of strength,” he said.
“The 6.5 to 7.5% projection for next year is based on the
assumption that we will be able to vaccinate a great majority of our people by
the first half of 2022. Any early introduction of the vaccine in the
Philippines will even improve that.”
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