Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, has advised Philippine banks to offer debt relief to their borrowers to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) now offering temporary “disinfection” jobs to workers who have been affected by the virus.
BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, who’s currently on self-quarantine, told cable news show ANC today that they will ask banks to extend debt relief to their clients “to help the country’s banking and financial institutions survive the impact of this COVID-19.”
Diokno said the debt relief will be temporary, and is expected to last one year, starting from President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of a state of public health emergency on March 9. Industries that will benefit are those that have been hardest-hit by the pandemic, such as bars, restaurants, airlines, and malls, among others.
Several establishments around the city, including Metro Manila malls, have been forced to close down because of the city’s so-called “community quarantine,” the citywide lockdown that went into effect yesterday.
Diokno said banks are advised to apply for debt relief for their clients, and the BSP will “favorably consider” them. The banks can also provide a moratorium on personal, auto, and home loans, and can ask for relief from the BSP.
The BSP has already asked banks to waive charges for online transactions as many people have been working from home, and suspending online transaction fees will encourage them to stay indoors.
“We shall have to take into account the serious spread of COVID-19. The consensus is that things will get worse before it gets better,” Diokno said.
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Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello said workers affected by business closures due to the monthlong lockdown can get a temp job with the agency as cleaners of schools and government buildings.
Bello said in an interview with radio station DZMM today that applicants willing to accept minimum wage can go to any of DOLE’s regional offices. “We will give them a job so they can get paid,” he said.
Just this afternoon, President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly put the entire island of Luzon on “enhanced community quarantine,” a heightened measure above and beyond the standing lockdown that could mean nearly 50 million people being confined to their homes, with security forces deployed to ensure compliance.
However, since presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo first made the announcement via a dashed-off text message to local media, he has since publicly said that details need to be ironed out, and that the president himself will address the matter shortly.
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