Dominguez: Fiscal response to COVID-19 on track, but consumer confidence a problem

The government on Wednesday said its fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic remains on track, but issues remain on rebuilding consumer confidence amid the rising infections and the extended lockdowns.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III in a virtual briefing said the administration is now working to regain the confidence to increase consumer spending and effectively boost growth.

"We are really facing a problem of people's confidence in the system and no matter how much fiscal response you have, if people don't have confidence of going out and spending, it's not really going to work, is it?" he said.

"Essentially we are looking at increasing people's confidence in not getting sick and making sure that they understand that the health infrastructure of the government can support whoever gets sick," the secretary added.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are at 412,097 as of Wednesday, November 18, including 374,666 recoveries and 7,957

The government has allocated P389.2 billion for the war chest against COVID-19 under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Bayanihan 1, and another P165.5 billion under Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2.

The economy contracted by 11.5% in the third quarter, which the government attributed to lower household and final consumption, along with the decline in construction during the period.

"When we talk of exit strategy from the COVID dislocations, we are really talking about a whole market approach. We have to coordinate health interventions with the fiscal, monetary, economic, and prudential policies to make sure that every detail is in sync with one another," said Dominguez.

"The challenge, of course, is that no one has any prior experience with covid so we are literally adapting and building our policy playbook," he added.—AOL, GMA News