PART
Ⅱ. Impact of COVID-19 on the Philippines
The pandemic has hit the Philippines economy hard. According to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) Asian Development Outlook 2020 Update, the Philippines economy is expected to contract by 7.3 percent in 2020, a much deeper decline than the June forecast of 3.8 percent.8)
Various sectors of the Philippines economy are at risk due to COVID-19. Table 2-1 below shows the different sectors with the varying levels of risk based on ILO’s ranking:
7) https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_740893/lang--en/index.htm
8)https://www.adb.org/news/philippine-economy-decline-further-2020-amid-covid-19- recovery-2021#:~:text=MANILA%2C%20PHILIPPINES%20(15%20September%202020,Bank%
20(ADB)%20released%20today.
Source: TESDA (2020). TVET Brief – COVID-19’s Impact to the Philippines Economic Sectors: A TVET Response, P.5-8.
Also badly affected are Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) remittances, household consumption, MSMEs, and the informal sector. Retrenchment by companies have left many of our OFWs without jobs, and many have since returned or, for the less fortunate, been repatriated back to the country. Per data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as of September 20, 2020, they have already facilitated the repatriation of 185,650 overseas Filipinos, of which 120,602 are land-based and 65,048 sea-based9). Community quarantines and social distancing protocols have also discouraged people from going out of their homes, severely impacting domestic consumption nationwide. Likewise, the Philippines’
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said 52.66 percent of MSMEs fully stopped or closed their operations due to the health crisis as of April 2910).
9) https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/09/21/2044053/dfa-logs-over-185000-filipinos- repatriated-due-pandemic
High Medium-High Medium Low-Medium Low
1. Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 2. Manufacturing 3. Real estate,
renting and business activities 4. Accommodation
and food services/
hotel and restaurants and other personal services
5. Transport, storage and communication 6. Tourism 7. Arts,
entertainment and recreation, and other services
8. Mining and quarrying 9. Financial
intermediation 10. Construction
11. Agriculture, forestry and fishing /agribusiness
12. Utilities (electricity, gas, water) 13. Human
health and social work
[The Philippines]
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31 A DTI survey in June 2020 of 2,135 companies revealed that 25.9 percent of businesses have closed down since the onset of the pandemic in the country, with 52 percent in partial operation and only 22.1 percent operating at full capacity11).
The Philippines education sector has also been having difficulty adjusting to the new normal as the country continues to implement nationwide lockdowns. The start of basic education was postponed from August 24 to October 05 to give schools, teachers, and students more time to prepare for the new normal of learning; This delay was welcomed by the Filipino people. Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) as of September 21, 2020 shows that 24,536,403 or 88.35 percent of learners have already enrolled nationwide, exceeding last year’s enrolment rate of 80 percent12).
The nature of TVET delivery has made it more difficult for the sector to cope with the challenges brought by the pandemic. The Philippines’
competency-based TVET requires both theoretical knowledge and the mastery of practical skills and techniques that are in demand among industries and companies. While the theoretical aspect can be taught via distance learning or other non-face-to-face methods, practical skills are much more difficult to impart through means other than actual hands-on experience. Moreover, the success of TVET is highly dependent on whether or not the competencies learned are sought by industries and employers, demonstrating the importance of on-the-job training and industry immersion programs called enterprise-based training. One major problem arising due to the pandemic, therefore, is the arrangements related to various enterprise-based training modalities,
10) https://business.inquirer.net/296227/dti-over-half-of-msmes-in-ph-fully-stopped-operations -due-to-virus-outbreak
11) https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/16/closure-of-26-of-ph-businesses-alarms-dti/
12) https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1116139
industries will be able to accommodate trainees for immersion to ensure that they gain the relevant knowledge and experience.
The current situation of Philippine TVET must also be taken into consideration when addressing the issues brought by COVID-19. TESDA’s TVET Brief on Traversing the “New Normal”: Innovation in Philippine TVET summarizes these as follows13):
PH TVET caters to different types of individuals from diverse backgrounds. While some can afford connectivity at home, there are also those who only rely on the available facilities provided by the trainers.
There are different training modalities used for the delivery of training - enterprise-based, institution-based, and community-based. These are being implemented depending on the learners’ requirements.
PH TVET is competency-based, wherein training programs developed are in sync with the qualifications sought by industries and employers.
The government has established scholarship programs such as Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA), Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), Unified Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA), and Tulong Trabaho Law.
TESDA programs are industry-driven. From policy formulation to Training Regulation (TR) development to TVET delivery, industry partners (together with other relevant stakeholders) are deeply involved in these programs implemented throughout the country.
Based on data on the users of the TESDA Online Program (TOP) during the ECQ period, 50% have full-time employment, 18% are students, while
13) https://tesda.gov.ph/Uploads/File/TVET%20Brief%202020/TVET%20Brief%20Issue%20no.%
205_Traversing-the-New-Normal-Innovation-in-PH-TVET.pdf
[The Philippines]
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33 only 15% are unemployed. This points to an existing economic discrepancy in education driven by information and communications technology (ICT).