MANILA - The national and local governments are urged to waive license fees for small businesses, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said Monday.

"Sana mapagisipan ng gobyerno, mga LGU na talagang hirap ang mga negosyante, maraming nagsasara, at magtulungan... Baka pwede i-waive o bawasan ang mga license fees, makakatulong 'yun lalo sa mga maliliit na kalahati nagsara na," PCCI chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(We hope government, the LGUs can consider that businessmen are having a hard time, many businesses are closing...Maybe they can waive or lower the license fees, that will help especially the small businesses, half of which have already closed.)

"Kung di matutulungan ang maliliit na industries medyo magtatagal bago makarecover."

(If they can't help small industries, it will take long to recover.)

The country's capital region and nearby provinces are under the modified enhanced community quarantine until April 30 following a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Under MECQ, only persons aged 18 to 65 who need to get essential goods and services, and those working in allowed industries are allowed outside their homes. Industries are allowed to operate at a limited capacity.

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The Philippines, which has the longest lockdowns in the world, recorded a -9.5 percent economic growth last year, its first contraction since 1998's 0.5 percent decline due to the Asian financial crisis.

The economic downturn was also worse than the 7 percent contraction recorded in 1984, making it the steepest post-war slump in Philippine history, using available PSA data dating back to 1947.

• PH posts worst GDP contraction since World War 2 with -9.5 pct growth rate in 2020