NEDA says another 2-week MECQ will worsen hunger, unemployment; bring losses to P2.1B daily

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Tuesday defended the new quarantine restrictions that allow travel only within Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces, as it said stricter measures would have worsened the hunger and employments situation as well as caused more economic losses.

In a Palace briefing, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua presented a cost-benefit analysis of two weeks of modified enhanced community quarantine or its equivalent, should the government choose to implement it amid the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.

Chua said the number of hungry Filipinos would rise by 58,000 from the current 3.2 million, and the number of unemployed Filipinos would climb by 128,500 from the current 506,000. The study also pegged non-COVID deaths at 78,599; and foregone treatment for high burden diseases at 75,000.

In return, a two-week MECQ would prevent up to 266,194 new cases of COVID-19, and stop up to 4,738 new deaths or 1.38% of the new cases. It would also prevent 11,626 new severe or critical cases.

"Yan po yung proseso na ginawa ng IATF, always based on the data and the recommendation based on science," Chua said, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

From March 22 to April 4, 2021, non-essential entry and exit into the "NCR Plus" bubble is banned. The bubble covers Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, which will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Travel within the bubble, however, is not restricted as the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the screening of travelers should not be done in checkpoints inside the NCR Plus. —KBK, GMA News