The Philippine economy took a huge dive when the pandemic hit the country, especially because of the lockdown procedures that had to be implemented. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Philippines contracted during the 4th quarter of 2020, projecting a growth rate of -8.3%, resulting in a – 9.5% growth rate for the whole year. It’s considered to be the biggest plunge in the country’s GDP on record since 1946.
Small businesses are among those that were deeply affected by the pandemic, and yet they may also be the key to getting the Philippine economy back on its feet. However, with lockdown procedures being implemented once more, it is becoming more and more difficult for small businesses to stay afloat, which in turn affects the workers.
Establishments like restaurants are especially taking a big hit now that stricter lockdown procedures are being implemented again (thanks, Delta and Lambda). Certain lockdown procedures prohibit dining in at restaurants and as a result they have to rely on only take-out and deliveries for sales.
A Twitter user recently reached out on the platform calling for giving more support to small businesses, because whether or not they have sales, they still have workers to pay, people who have families to support.
As a Resto owner, Lumalaban kami araw araw para sa mga staff namin na may binubuhay na pamilya. 😞
May sales o wala, Need namin sila pasahurin dahil kelangan nila ng panggastos. Pls support local restos and sme #SMEs #supportsmallbusiness https://t.co/U791MWx7qQ pic.twitter.com/YDVVmvx8Yr
— Man (@lwlgmsn) September 8, 2021
This is where we come in. If we support small businesses we can help not only the business owners, but also the workers who are doing their best to get by during this difficult time while supporting their families.
SMEs are doing their best to keep things up and running but for some it’s difficult to adjust whenever lockdown procedures are implemented. However, with the rise of the Delta and Lambda variants it’s possible that we’ll be going through more lockdowns in the future, so we should do what we can to help out small businesses.
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