As the country implements a more relaxed health protocol beginning this month, the business sector is calling on the government to make antigen test kits accessible for free to contain the spread of the virus.

George T. Barcelon, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said that it is important to have antigen test kits readily available in drugstores and in local barangays nationwide as the country slowly moves out of the pandemic and prepares for the full reopening of the economy.

“While our primary goal is to vaccinate majority if not all Filipinos, it is equally important that rapid antigen test kits are made available and affordable up to the grassroots level to curb the spread of COVID-19. Such assistance to,” Barcelon said at the CenSEI Philippine Economic Forum.

Barcelon added that there is a shortage in the supply of the test kits and hopes that government could procure elsewhere to give for free to the general public. He said that “such assistance, especially to the MSMEs, could bolster confidence in opening up the economy,”

The PCCI head lauded the government for implementing a scaled-up vaccination program and the use of moderate alert levels instead of lockdowns measures for the economy to move forward and fully recover.  

“PCCI sees these as the result of a better balance between meeting the exigencies of economic concerns and the health requirements of COVID-19 response,” Barcelon added. 

Meanwhile, Malacanan earlier confirmed reports that Metro Manila and its nearby provinces and other parts  in Visayas and Mindanao, are now back to Alert Level 2 starting February 1.