MANILA -- Placing Metro Manila under general community quarantine will help revive the economy that was shuttered by one of the world's longest pandemic lockdowns, business leaders said Friday.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday approved a government task force recommendation to place Metro Manila under GCQ with limited public transport and more businesses allowed to operate.

The move will jump start economic recovery in Metro Manila, which accounts for a third of the country's gross domestic product, Management Association of the Philippines president Francis Lim told ANC.

"I think it’s a step towards the right direction. I think we’ll have an economic recovery that we’re all trying to do. We agree with that but national discipline will really have to come in. We all have to cooperate fully with the government in order to avoid a recurrence," Lim said.

• Duterte: Metro Manila transitions to general quarantine on June 1

The transition to GCQ from modified enhanced community quarantine will encourage consumers to resume spending, said Financial Executives of the Philippines president Jeng Pascual.

"Demand will only happen when there is confidence and the opportunity to spend," Pascual said.

Both groups support several economic stimulus packages pending in Congress especially the CREATE bill, which aims to "immediately" cut corporate income tax to 25 percent from 30 percent as early as July. The measure will help businesses recover, Lim said.

• Corporate tax cut under CREATE seen to keep jobs at 'high levels'