In a March 7, 2022 article published in Philippine Information Agency, Kris Crismundo reported that Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion has recommended maintaining Alert Level 1 status in the country to counter the impacts of global economic slowdown brought by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

According to the report, Concepcion said in a statement Monday, March 7, that the increased mobility and keeping all economic activities open will support the expansion of gross domestic product (GDP) and keep businesses afloat.

Concepcion added, “It’s now become more urgent for the Philippines to maintain its Alert Level 1 status until the end of the year.., schools and offices have a massive multiplier effect in spurring economic activity, especially with small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) like cafeterias, retail shops, and transport.” He also said: “(W)e have to continue to vaccinate, booster, and keep our Covid indicators under control. If our Covid numbers go up again, our mobility will be restricted, and we would reverse the gains we’ve achieved so far.”

Editor’s Note: This report trudges two paths: sustain the economy with the looming war and keep the covid vaccination pace.

What does this tell us? Concepcion may appear to have the people’s best interest; however, can you smell the control that entails this alert level? Clearly, Concepcion and his cohorts do not want to scrap covid restriction entirely, even when it is now clear that these are no longer necessary.

When other countries and the US States have already lifted illogical mandates, the Philippine authorities seemed to enjoy people’s compliance to their unconstitutional resolutions. [See Denmark Ends All Covid-related Restrictions Despite High Covid CasesFinland Follows Other European Countries, Eases COVID Restrictions; More European countries roll back COVID restrictions; New Zealand High Court Quashes Vaccine Mandate, Says Mandate Infringes Bill of Rights.]

The best thing they could do if they are concerned about the economy is to scrap alert levels totally. In fact, statistics show the considerable improvement where their imposition of restrictions relied upon [see South Africa eases most COVID restrictions, citing high population immunity; Iceland: Vaccines Not Enough, as Many as Possible People Need to be Infected for herd immunity].

Furthermore, employing Alert level 1 is definitely hostage-taking. For LGUs to qualify, they have to meet the criteria of an 80% vaccination rate, the reason LGU pressures the barangays to engage in house-to-house visits to encourage inoculation. [See https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/lgus-must-vaccinate-80percent-of-seniors-to-be-on-alert-level-1/ar-AAUhx6X; https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/22/house-to-house-vaccination-pushed-as-vax-centers-reach-saturation-point/]

Also, if the economy is the real reason for keeping Alert level 1, there’s something wrong with this standpoint. If there’s an impending world war, we should strengthen and secure the local economy. Government should create safety nets to ensure no food shortages and micro, small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) are safeguarded and running despite a world economic breakdown.

Why is Concepcion still focused on vaccinating everyone? When some parts of the world steer away from their covid policies because undoubtedly, covid jab failed to flatten the curve [see Israeli study concludes vaccines have failed to prevent spread of COVID; Norway Study Finds ZERO Vaccine Effectiveness Against Death for Covid Hospital Patients; Study shows COVID vaccines unable to protect vulnerable groups; Why Can’t COVID Vaccines Create Herd Immunity?]. What does Concepcion try to prove?

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