According to the Finance Secretary, the PH is Ready for the COVID-19 Pandemic to Last Until May

PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) / Photo by Jun Acullador / https://www.flickr.com/photos/acullador/3703278403

Just last week, President Rodrigo Duterte extended the Luzon enhanced community quarantine until the end of April to curb the rise of the coronavirus or COVID-19. But does that mean that the virus will be gone by the end of the month? For Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez, that isn’t the case.

In an interview with CNBC’s Street Signs Asia, he said that conservative estimates say that the COVID-19 will last until the end of May. The good thing is that we’re prepared for it.

He said, “Our original funding was really for two months, that is April and May. While we were not sure how long (COVID-19) will last, we think that conservative estimates would be until around the end of May, so we are ready until the end of May.”

On April 12, 2020, the Department of Health reported 220 new cases, bringing the total to 4,648. The department also announced 40 new recoveries for a total of 197 and 50 new deaths for a total of 297.

According to Dominguez, the government has allotted a total of $23 billion (roughly P1,162,661,500,000) for healthcare and economic initiatives, and could increase its borrowings from banks and the commercial market. They are also preparing a “bounce back” stimulus package to help the economy. Moreover, he explained that Duterte has the authority to reallocate government funds to where it is needed.