IATF urges LGUs to provide assistance to distressed businesses

Published December 18, 2020 1:21pm

The government’s COVID-19 task force has appealed to local government units (LGUs) to assist businesses affected by the pandemic.

In a resolution approved on Thursday, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) asked the LGUs to provide regulatory relief such as but not limited to deferment of the payment deadlines for business fees.

The Philippines has imposed strict movement restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, forcing  businesses to either shut down temporarily or permanently.

The government later gradually reopened the economy to reduce the unemployment rate, which stood at 17.6% (around 7.2 million jobless Filipinos) at the height of lockdown in April, and rolled out a wage subsidy program for employees of small businesses.

The unemployment rate decreased to 8.7% (around 3.8 million jobless Filipinos) in October. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News

SOURCE: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/768530/iatf-urges-lgus-to-provide-assistance-to-distressed-businesses/story/