Western Visayas COVID-19 Regional Recovery Plan

Industry and Services The COVID-19 pandemic caused the temporary suspension of production activities for both goods and services. Initial estimates show that the economy will have zero growth and possibly register a decline as many businesses have stopped operations and find it difficult to cope with the losses.

As the country navigates through the lingering effects of the pandemic, there is a heightened risk of financial insolvency for firms particularly those that have incurred mounting debt, those with large overhead costs, and those with limited or no insurance coverage against losses. In the near term, there will be increased demand among companies, especially from the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), for economic assistance such as tax breaks, access to credit subsidies, debt relief, and employment subsidy support, among others, the costs of which will be paid mostly by government.

In the manufacturing sector, production of merchandise goods will favor essential goods particularly food, medicine, medical and pharmaceutical products, and other essential goods mostly related to efforts to contain the outbreak. Equally important is that manufacture of intermediate inputs and raw materials for essential goods will also remain unhampered (e.g., plastic and plastic products, rubber products, chemical products, etc.).

Construction will focus on building quarantine and other health facilities, and rehabilitating existing ones to increase the capacity of the health care system. There may even be increased construction demand in the rural areas, as urban dwellers realize the advantages of less dense areas.

In many service-oriented organizations in the private and public sector, flexible-work arrangements (e.g., work from home) will have to be implemented in accordance with strict social distancing protocols. In many instances, part of the New Normal means working and interacting virtually instead of face-to-face. Workspaces (e.g., factories and office spaces) will need to be re-configured to address the need for physical distancing.

Work protocols in the manufacturing sector will also need to be reconfigured to comply with social distancing. This will mean a mix of staggered work hours and greater dispersion of workspaces.

Sit-down eateries may need to shift to take-out menus. And those that anchor their business model on the ambience of their place will need to re-package their service. The same goes for tourism establishments like hotels and restaurants.

Hygiene protocols will be expected in all establishments, such as the presence of disinfection areas and disinfectants within easy access of everyone. Health checks and temperature scanning will remain the norm. These will mean higher cost of doing business in the near term.

E-commerce will play a big role in the New Normal scenario as businesses and consumers increase the use of online transactions, including the expanded use of cashless payment system and other financial technology platforms. This bodes well for the retail and other business Western Visayas COVID-19 Regional Recovery Plan  Scenarios toward the New Normal  69