More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2026/01/26/philippines-face-pandemic-scars-as-corporate-profits-jobs-languish |
The Philippine pandemic recovery remains uneven as lingering scars from the 2020 health crisis continue to drag on corporate profits and employment, according to a study by the state-run Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
In a Jan. 20 discussion paper titled “Liquidity amid Lockdowns: Corporate Performance in the Philippines during the Global Pandemic,” researchers from PIDS highlighted that the health crisis triggered an unprecedented economic contraction—the steepest in Southeast Asia—after strict lockdowns beginning in March 2020 disrupted business activity. The measures led to revenue losses, closures, and widespread layoffs.
The report, authored by Marianne J. Rodriguez, John Paolo R. Rivera, Ivan Cenon V. Bernardo, Ramona Maria L. Miral, and Mark Gerald C. Ruiz, found that mandatory business closures significantly hurt corporate revenues. Firms that experienced full-year shutdowns saw annual income drop by about 65 percent, or roughly 5.4 percent for every month of closure.
PIDS said that liquidity-constrained firms experienced even larger declines, indicating that limited cash reserves reduced their ability to withstand prolonged closures.
While many firms eventually resumed operations, PIDS noted that revenues were often insufficient to justify rehiring or expanding workforces, with employment bearing much of the adjustment.
The think tank suggested this could reflect two scenarios: firms may have cut jobs to protect profit margins, or employment reductions may represent a post-pandemic adjustment to optimal workforce levels due to sectoral shifts and new business models that emerged during the crisis.
The study highlighted that non-tradable and non-essential firms suffered the sharpest declines in revenue, profits, and overall financial health, illustrating the uneven impact of lockdowns and demand shocks across sectors.
To mitigate such effects, PIDS stressed the importance of targeted, sector-specific support during crises. Firms in non-tradable, non-essential sectors—hardest hit by mobility and operational restrictions—require tailored liquidity assistance, wage support, or conditional grants rather than blanket interventions that primarily benefit less-affected firms.
Improving credit access for financially constrained firms was another key recommendation. PIDS suggested measures such as targeted loan moratoria, tax relief, lower policy rates, emergency lending facilities, and expanded collateral frameworks. Broader access to working capital and supplier financing can also help bridge liquidity gaps during future downturns.
Job losses hit mostly non-tradable sectors, while tradable firms raised compensation. PIDS stressed the need for targeted safety nets, labor mobility, reskilling, and digitalization to help firms weather future shocks.
As for sector and firm type, PIDS called on financial firms to ensure continued intermediation and liquidity provision during crises, while urging non-financial firms to prioritize boosting liquidity, adopting digital solutions, and taking advantage of tax deferrals.
Financially constrained firms were encouraged to expand access to collateral-free credit, supplier financing, and emergency grants. For financially unconstrained firms, PIDS recommended incentives for reinvestment in labor and innovation, such as matching grants or retooling subsidies.
The study offered sector-specific guidance: tradable firms should focus on facilitating trade and export incentives while ensuring logistics continuity, whereas non-tradable firms should aim to stimulate local demand through consumption incentives and mobility-safe business models.
Ultimately, PIDS concluded that a segmented, evidence-based approach can better align fiscal policies, financial regulation, and central banking measures, promoting a more inclusive and resilient recovery. This ensures that macroeconomic stability does not come at the expense of smaller firms, allowing both large companies and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to access tailored support for growth.
Well, if that sounds bad take a look at the recent GDP report for the 4th quarter of 2025. GDP has sunk to a post-pandemic low.
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| https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/01/29/2504334/philippine-gdp-growth-sinks-post-pandemic-low-q4-2025-due-corruption-scandal |
The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) hit a record low of 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025—its lowest quarterly growth since 2009, excluding the pandemic years.
This brings the country’s annual GDP growth to 4.4%, well below the government’s target of 5.5% to 6.5%.
While analysts had already predicted that the Philippines would fail to meet its GDP target, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan admitted that the economic slump was still sharper than expected.
Balisacan admitted that the massive corruption scam in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had affected business and consumer confidence.
“While these developments weighed on short-term growth, the Marcos Administration emphasizes that the investigations into the flood control corruption controversy had to be undertaken,” Balisacan said in a press conference.
“The resulting measures and governance reforms are necessary to strengthen accountability, improve project quality, ensure better value for scarce public resources, and build our capacity for faster and more sustainable growth in the years ahead,” he added.
Other factors that further weighed down the country’s economy were the adverse effects of natural hazards, as well as global uncertainties.
The industry sector suffered a sharp decline in the fourth quarter of 2025, shrinking to -0.9%, bringing the annual growth rate to 1.5%.
Balisacan again attributed this to the decrease in construction projects. Construction activity in the country slowed following the DPWH scandal, with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon halting locally funded projects after the flood control scam.
Despite the sizable decline, Balisacan emphasized that a slowed economy is still preferable to allowing corruption to persist in the name of short bursts of growth. Reforms, he said, are key to sustainable and inclusive growth.
“We need to regain trust as quickly as possible,” Balisacan said, adding that legislative proposals such as an Anti-Political Dynasty measure, the Party-List System Reform Act, and others would help restore public confidence.
Balisacan said that 2026 must be the rally point, expressing optimism that Philippine GDP growth may see a turnaround as early as the second quarter of 2026.
The decrease in construction projects? They are doing their hardest to blame all the recent losses on the flood control corruption scandal. It may be true but the corruption has been ongoing for years. So, how is that possible? Because everyone has finally acknowledged it?
One seafarer had his life upended by the pandemic.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2026/01/31/how-the-pandemic-changed-a-seafarers-career |
It was in the middle of May 2020 when, out of the blue, the ship that was a "home" to a Filipino seafarer became a fearful and uncomfortable ground. A place where a workday passes by shifted to a setting of long nights.
The Covid-19 pandemic was declared, and around the world, countries closed their borders. For seafarers like Joelex Segui, 35, from Camarines Sur, it meant that work stopped. And going home became a series of mandatory quarantine periods before he would be allowed entry into a country, his hometown, and finally, into his own barangay.
Working on a ship made him used to having an ample supply of food and necessities, but when he was under quarantine, food security did not bring him comfort, as the fear of contracting the virus while under isolation would constantly kick in.
What used to be a joyful work became an agonizing wait. The laughter shared with his fellow-crewmen slowly died down, only to be replaced by deafening silence, each locked in troubling worry for loved ones back home.
“It was dull, sad, and frightening. While cases of Covid-19 continued to rise, we were away from our families. We want to get back home immediately because we were worried for our families,” Segui said.
After two months of quarantine, and while preparing to disembark in July 2020, he was finally heading home with thoughts of being able to see his then two-year-old daughter.
But his most-awaited reunion with his daughter had to wait for more weeks as he had to undergo multiple quarantines from a hotel, to a barangay facility, to a local government facility after coming home from Malaysia—a lengthy process every overseas Filipino had to go through during those times.
First, he had to stay for eight days in a hotel in Manila for the mandatory quarantine before finally being sent back to his hometown after testing negative for the disease. But the expected merry-making with his family upon arriving home never happened, as he had to stay for yet another quarantine in their barangay facility.
Unending isolation
Unlike in the ship, in hotels in Malaysia and Manila, quarantine in their village was uncomfortable.
He opted to stay alone in a nipa hut near the quarantine buildings in hopes that it would be a little more comfortable. His father had to fix the damaged parts of the nipa hut so that when it rains, it won’t drip inside.
His family made sure to prepare what he needed, handed over his food through the door, and gave him comfort from a distance.
Everything was well until his ninth day in the nipa hut. He was suddenly having a hard time breathing. It was also on that same day that one of his colleagues, with whom he had close contact before leaving Manila, tested positive for the disease.
“It was frightening, anxious. I saw my daughter every day. I thought, we’re almost there. I can finally hug you after almost 12 months. But what if I’m also infected?” Segui said.
On his 10th day of quarantine in the nipa hut, he was transferred to their local government facility located three kilometers away from their home, taking him away from his family once again.
He had to be isolated along with 13 other patients within the site. All have tested positive for the disease.
The waiting time continued. It was only two weeks later that his swab test result came in, and he tested negative for the disease.
Farewell seafaring
Five years later, this memory remains vivid for Segui. He survived quarantine and the dreaded pandemic. After a long journey back home — 90 days of being in quarantine—he reunited with his family, and even the sea when restrictions finally eased.
But his return to seafaring post-pandemic actually became his closure to his years of being a seafarer.
"After the pandemic, things were okay. I was able to go back on board once. But after that, I didn't go back because I realized many things," Segui shared.
The anxiety and fear that took over during the pandemic were pivotal to his decision to end his career.
"It was scary, what if it happened again? There were thoughts like that. Then my wife and I agreed that I would no longer work on ships. I just stayed here in the Philippines, and I'm now based here," Segui revealed.
He is currently working as a virtual assistant (VA). He recognized that after seafaring, it was difficult to shift into another job.
"That’s what I do now because I still need a job. What’s difficult here is that if you’re a seafarer, it’s hard to get another job—unless you have skills like being a VA or similar," he said.
'You always have to be ahead'
If there's one thing that the pandemic left him with, it was to be prepared for anything that could happen, stressing the need to have plans so he can be ahead of any eventuality.
He realized that relying on the government to recover from a past setback can be difficult.
"Lesson? Maybe you should have insurance. Or you should be ready for anything that could happen. You always need to be ahead," Segui said.
"You have to have plans, because it’s hard if you rely on the government to help you recover from a past setback," he stressed.
The strict pandemic quarantines kept him isolated for 90 days! 90 days!! And instead of keeping him safe it traumatized the poor man and caused him to quit being a seafarer and work as a virtual assistant.
