Health and economy are two things e need to find balance to during the pandemic. How is our government fairing on this?
We all grew up with the saying that “health is wealth.” This Pandemic has shown us both sides of the coin. What life would be if we halted the economy to save lives and our health. What life would be if we open up the economy and be a little less fearful of our health.
In the Philippines for example, they did the most strict quarantine protocol locking down the entire country for about 3 months. Because of that, about 4 million Filipinos lost their job and this has a great impact for both the health and economy of the nation.
It has been two months since a less strict quarantine protocol was implemented in the country especially in Metro Manila which is the center of economy in the Philippines . Economic managers believe that infrastructure developments promote growth, woo investors, and generate employment opportunities, that will save the dying Philippine economy.
Construction of Roads
There are a couple of construction projects that went back to work during this time. One of them was the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link, the NLEX-SLEX Connector, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, and the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3. Most of them used access mat like the one found at https://northernmat.ca/products/access-mats/ . Dependable access mats is important to that enable the construction crews and heavy equipment to reliably reach their destination. I believe they used the same for the resumed operations in R-1 Bridge, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, and the Subic Freeport Expressway.
These are development initiatives under the Build, Build, Build program of the present administration and is said to have a lot of “economic benefits,” to promote sustainability in urban areas, especially the capital region.
Rise of Agri-Sites
While the public works and highways department is tackling the Build, Build, Build project, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is likewise supporting infrastructure development in the form of agri-industrial hub projects. Partnering with other government agencies, the agency is gearing up for the construction of such sites in key areas. The first one will rise in New Clark City, while the second will be in Taguig.
Aside from this, the office launched Plant, Plant, Plant in May, a program aimed at supporting the country’s food security amid the pandemic. The inauguration was celebrated during the farmers and fisherfolks’ month, as reported by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Under the program, urban communities are urged to engage in fish and vegetable farming. Likewise, it promotes a more vibrant farming culture in rural areas.
One of the hobbies that emerged during the lockdown was plant growing indoors . In the US , indoor plants has become in demand and the price are increasing! Moving trucks and services like the one provided by moving company Irvine are also in demand as big decorative plants like Monstera Deliciosa are being delivered to homes.
In March, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved DA’s request for a supplemental budget amounting to P31 billion. The budget covers different initiatives, including rice resiliency, palay procurement, expanded agriculture insurance, and social amelioration for farmers and farmworkers. There will also be funds allocated for integrated livestock and corn resiliency, coconut-based diversification, revitalized gulayan, and urban agriculture.
It will also be beneficial if the public works and highways put attention to our drainage and sewerage system. Just recently a big flood happened in EDSA which stranded a lot of commuters. It will beneficial of the government to use technology used by Heatline for all plumbing components.
Health and Economy
While all the building and construction projects are put in place to help the economy back on its feet again. The government should not forget the health of all the workers being employed and forced to go to work during these time. Without healthy and experienced workers there will be no people to run the economy. Both go hand in hand and the government should find the balance between health and economy during the Pandemic to gain trust again.