Due to the crisis, however, the government allowed monthly bills to be paid much later resulting in a drop in revenues.They also have to cut the number of employees - a double whammy, Carbon noted.
As there are fewer workers and classes suspended already more than a year, fewer use the public utility vehicles. This further puts pressure on the livelihood of the thousands of drivers in the province of Negros Occidental and the entire country, he said.
For the pharmaceuticals, the bulk of the medicines people buy are maintenance pills for hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and the likes. Cash shortage drove folks to try alternative medicines and would rather delay or hold-off seeing physicians to save,Carbon noted.
In education, foreboding consequences due to prohibitions under pandemic situations, he said, adding that it is not yet known how many youngsters dropped out of school; eventual results could be child labor and even worse - prostitution.
One of the solutions he recommends is for the government to continue injecting more money in circulation through loans to the business community. He explained that as business expands, more workers will be hired.
Employment means salary in the pockets of the masses allowing them to buy their needs that move the economy in the right direction.
"In these difficult times, we look up to the government because it is the only entity that has the capacity to borrow money to pump-prime the economy. And when better time comes, the state should invest massively in food and agri-business industry; utility sectors; pharmaceuticals and health and education to hasten the country's growth," he said. (JSC/Lljr/PIA6 Negros Occidental)
