Vehicles travel along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) highway in Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Philippines’ economy is struggling to gain momentum as elevated numbers of Covid cases hamper reopening efforts and destroy jobs. - Bloomberg
MANILA (Bloomberg): Snaking queues at Manila food banks have become a common sight as the economy continues struggling a year after the Philippines’ first coronavirus lockdown. It’s a sharp contrast to 2018, when hundreds lined up for the grand opening of Uniqlo Co’s Global Flagship Store in Manila, its largest outlet in Southeast Asia.
Over the last decade the Philippines had managed to throw off its mantle as the "sick man” of Asia, with its 109-million strong population driving a consumption-led economy.
An outsourcing boom and remittances from legions of citizens working abroad helped raise incomes and lifted at least 2 million Filipinos out of poverty.
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