Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) this year has not been an obstacle to the growth of the country’s manufacturing and export sectors.
He said it was a big deal that the Inter-Agency Task Force eased the second ECQ implemented in March compared to the first ECQ last year.
“Pero thankfully ang IATF naga-adjust. Itong taon na ito na nag-ECQ tayo ng March, ang manufacturing lalo na ang exports pati po ang (business process outsourcing) in-allow natin ng 100 percent kasi ito po iyong labor-intensive,” said Lopez on Tuesday.
“So ibanalanse po ng IATF ang ECQ natin allowing iyong very critical industries and workers. So malaki ang naitulong noon. Hindi nawala ang trabaho at gumanda ang manufacturing index natin. Ibig sabihin naka-recover tayo mula sa 32 index last year.”
Lopez added that the country’s exports sector also grew with a large percentage coming from the electronics industry.
The Philippines’ top export markets are the US, China, Japan, and the European Union for electronics, machinery, and transport equipment.
“Dahil malakas ang manufacturing pati po ang pag-export natin lumakas, this year bumawi na tayo 72% growth,” said Lopez.
Manufacturing, export sectors grew even with ECQ
“Kung iyi-year to year date po natin, from January to June, ang ating export po lumaki at 29 percent growth, last year bumagsak ng 50%, so nag-recover na tayo . . . Mas mataas pa ang year natin ngayon versus 2019 na pre-pandemic. Ibig sabihin mayroon na tayong growth na na-achieve.”
Lopez also said that the President’s independent foreign policy has helped because China has become a strong export market.
“Ang exports ng Pilipinas sa China noong 2015 ay 6.1 or yeah, $6.2 billion. Noong 2019, fast forward to 2019, ito ay $9.8 billion na. So 59 percent growth in four years,” said Lopez.
“So talagang tinatanggap ang produkto natin at mas maluwag nakakapasok sa China. In fact, idagdag ko na rin, even on investments na dati practically walang investment from China ay lumaki rin po itong administration, sa administration ninyo ang investments galing sa China.”
He said the DTI continues to improve to further increase investment by simplifying processes for businesses and investors.
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