One cannot say enough about the impact SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 has had on the Asian continent. Claiming the lives of some 3 million globally and infecting close to 140 million people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world. With the Philippines being among the first to witness the brunt of the virus, the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the Philippines has been significant. After imposing lockdown measures in mid-March, President Duterte of the Philippines has maintained an iron hand of control as numbers have continued to rise.

The resulting lockdowns due to the virus have created a significant downturn in the job market, thus exacerbating the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the Philippines. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Philippines’ unemployment rate hovered around 5%, but it has now worsened due to lockdown measures. According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, unemployment rose to 17.6% in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it is a figure that could rise as lockdown measures continue, leading to increased levels of poverty and hunger.

As a result of increased unemployment, poverty has risen, with expectations determining that almost 3 million Filipinos would enter poverty by the end of 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the Philippines is temporary but the right measures and lifting lockdown measures as rates and vaccinations roll out could alleviate it.

While rising poverty rates, increasing hunger levels and stagnating GDP have been common for industrializing countries in this pandemic, the Philippines sees the woes as potential wins, opportunities to flip its eager human capital into a kickstarter for economic growth. Vivencio Dizon, the Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs, said that “Infrastructure, a neglected aspect of the Philippines represents an opportunity for the country to reclaim some of its lost economic potential.”

Duterte’s government has reviewed almost $80 billion worth of physical infrastructure projects. Many government officials in the Filipino government are confident that these projects will help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the Philippines as many are looking towards the future. One of the projects is the “Build Build Build” program, a project that will involve building infrastructure across the Philippines. A combination of over 20,000 smaller infrastructure projects like the construction of airports, roads, seaports, hospitals, administrative centers and more will demand both highly skilled and low skilled labor to coordinate and enact and oversee construction projects across the rural and urban areas in the country.