Lacson to Gov't: Consider Moving Towards Endemic Mindset to Help Economy Recover
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A suggestion to remove the Covid alert system as lockdowns become more granular will give our battered economy a badly needed chance to recover, Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson said Tuesday.

But Lacson stressed the health and economic officials concerned must learn from the past and adopt a sense of urgency in studying - and implementing - such options.

"It's about time. Talagang matindi ang inabot ng ekonomiya natin for the past two years (It's about time. Our economy has suffered in the past two years)," he said in an interview on DWIZ radio, when asked if he favors a suggestion by presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion to remove the alert level system.

"Our economy has taken a beating from the lockdowns and imposed alert levels over the past two years. It is time to give it the needed break to recover," he added.

Lacson stressed the government must be quick in doing its study so its policy decisions will be responsive. "Dapat pag-aralan pero dapat bilisan ang pag-aaral (The government should study its options, but it must have a sense of urgency in doing so)," he said.

He said the government must also plan for the long term as Filipinos cannot afford a repeat of 2020 - when the government was caught unprepared for the entry of Covid cases, as shown by its failure in contact tracing and closing of our borders.

Also, Lacson reiterated the government may consider looking at the experiences in other European countries that are already in that state. The bottom line is that the decision must be science-based and data-driven, he said.

"We should act faster than we used to do in our data gathering with due consideration to science which can be provided by our health experts, in consultation with their foreign counterparts. As always, in situations like this, the key is a sense of urgency," he stressed.

Lacson and his Vice Presidential bet, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, are running on a platform of improving the lives of Filipinos by fixing the ills of government (Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng Bawat Pilipino) and going after thieves especially those in government (Uubusin ang Magnanakaw).