The Philippines will “restart and accelerate” its Build, Build, Build infrastructure programme and hire contact-tracers “en masse” to reboot the economy, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said.
In a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and other cabinet officials aired over state-run PTV4, Dominguez said the government needed to “do many things to revive the economy.”
“After we are confident that we are in control of the death rate and infections, we should restart and accelerate the Build, Build, Build programme subject to minimum health standards,” he said.
“The infrastructure remains to be the best driver of economic growth because it has the best multiplier effects in terms of employment and shared prosperity,” he added.
The finance chief revealed that some 1.2mn to 1.5mn jobs were “temporarily lost” because of the health crisis.
“We should also hire contact tracers en masse to boost our efforts to stop transmission and defeat Covid-19 while providing jobs,” Dominguez said. “I think we can provide good jobs to people,” he added.
Dominguez also batted for the passage of the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalisation Act (Citira), which Duterte certified as urgent in March.
The Citira seeks to rationalise tax incentives granted to industries. It will also gradually lower the corporate income tax from 30% to 20% over the next 10 years.
It has been approved by the House of Representatives and is awaiting approval in the Senate.
“The bill has been with the Senate for a few months. We would like to ask for your support so that Congress can pass this before June 3,” Dominguez said. The government should likewise stimulate consumer demand by promoting the manufacturing of products that have strong and inelastic demand, such as food, he added.
“Inelastic demand means you must buy it regardless of what your income is or what the price of the good is and that is food, number one. You have to eat. So we must push food production and food logistics,” he said.
“The Duterte administration’s economic team and legislators are finalising an economic recovery programme that will help us combat the pandemic,” he added.
Last week, the Philippines reported a 0.2% shrinkage in first quarter gross domestic product, the first contraction since 1998.