Addressing hunger in the Philippines starts with the reopening of the country’s economy, Malacañang said Monday in a response to a recent survey that revealed 7.6 million Filipino families living in hunger in the past 3 months.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque however assured that programs that provide assistance to sectors affected by the pandemic will still push through.
“Ang garantiya na mapababa natin ang bilang ng nagugutom ay buksan ang ekonomiya nang mas marami ang makapaghanapbuhay. Ang ayuda temporary lang yan, mas mabuting bigyan natin ng permanenteng hanapbuhay muli ang ating mga kababayan,” Roque said.
[The guarantee to decrease the number of people experiencing hunger is to open the economy so more can return to their livelihoods. Aid is temporary, it’s better to give permanent livelihoods to our people.]
“Nananawagan kami sa lahat, alam ko pong nakakatakot ang COVID pero napakita na po natin dahil halos 7 buwan nang naririyan sa atin, kapag nag-mask, hugas (ng kamay) at iwas (o physical distancing) ay pupuwede naman pong magtrabaho.”
[We call on everyone, we know COVID-19 is scary but in the 7 months that it has been here, we know that when we wear face masks, wash our hands and avoid others, we can go to work.]
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the country’s economy plunged into recession due to having one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world.
