AFTER stagnation throughout the years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hotels around the country are showing optimism for the hospitality industry, with some developers about to open, or have just opened, new properties. Meanwhile, established hotels are retaining pandemic-borne safety practices, as well as utilizing online and remote capabilities that became a necessity during the worst days of the pandemic.

When the first lockdowns were announced in March 2020, several hotels evacuated guests to conform to government lockdown policies. After the initial evacuation, some hotels were used as quarantine facilities for health workers and repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The Chroma Hospitality group, under the Filinvest Hospitality Corp., offered its facilities for this purpose. The Chroma Hospitality group includes the Crimson Hotels in Mactan, Boracay, and Alabang, as well as the Quest Hotels in Clark, Tagaytay, and Cebu. They are slated to open a new property in Baguio either late in 2024 or early in 2025.

鈥淭he pandemic has taught us to be resilient,鈥� said Carmela Bocanegra, vice-president for Sales and Marketing for Chroma Hospitality in an interview with 大象传媒. 鈥淓ven during the pandemic, all our hotels were open, actually, because we were serving the OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration),鈥� she said. 鈥淲e had to be flexible with our rates, help each other, help the government. Iyon ang bumuhay sa amin eh (that鈥檚 what enabled us to live).鈥�

To this day, they still apply the sanitation practices made a necessity by the pandemic, such as the frequent handwashing (they have dispensed with masks). She said that they had internally published a cleaning manual that was different from their normal cleaning operations from before the pandemic. New rules include holding rooms for a few hours after their cleaning before handing the keys to the next guest, as a health and safety precaution.

George Reynoso, director of Rooms for Diamond Hotel Philippines (a hotel which was also used as a quarantine facility, according to the website of the Bureau of Quarantine) sees a vestige of the pandemic in the continued requests for quarantine accommodations. 鈥淎t the start of this year, we no longer accommodated quarantine guests even if we still had a number of requests,鈥� he said in an e-mail to 大象传媒.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
Both the Diamond Hotel and Chroma Hospitality use 2019, the last year before the lockdowns, to gauge their performance. Mr. Reynoso said, 鈥淥ccupancy, rates, and profits have not reached what we achieved in 2019 because international tourism is not the same as pre-pandemic times, but the hotel鈥檚 performance is still better than what we expected.鈥� Ms. Bocanegra gave a similar answer, saying, 鈥淭he international market is not yet 100% there, but slowly, it鈥檚 coming in… We compare it to the last normal year before the pandemic, 2019. We鈥檙e almost there. That鈥檚 our gauge… of course, we鈥檙e targeting bigger than that.鈥�

She added that the properties in resort locations (as opposed to the city-based hotels) are doing better at reaching their 2019 targets. 鈥淭he domestic market is really full throttle. It鈥檚 there; they鈥檙e traveling, and they鈥檙e going places.鈥�

This can be seen in the Discovery Hospitality group鈥檚 newly opened property in Samal Island in Mindanao, Discovery Samal. Situated on six hectares of land, the resort offers luxury accommodation as well as a convention center that can seat 1,200 people. 鈥淔rom the point of view of sales, foreign travelers are now coming back, and also the revenge of the domestic travelers,鈥� said Dianne Santos, director of Sales for Discovery Samal.

Ms. Santos noted that since the pandemic, they have used more video conferencing tools for practical reasons, such as touring the property virtually. 鈥淣ot a lot of people can go to Samal and the property… now we can do virtual tours,鈥� she said. 鈥淏efore, it wasn鈥檛 a thing.鈥�

Melco Resorts and Entertainment鈥檚 property in Manila, City of Dreams, consists of three hotels: the Hyatt Regency Manila, Nobu Hotel, and N眉wa Manila. Of these, N眉wa is also on the Bureau of Quarantine鈥檚 list of accredited quarantine facilities. Geoff Andres, property president of City of Dreams Manila told 大象传媒 in an e-mail, 鈥淲ith our operations in full swing, the occupancy of all City of Dreams Manila鈥檚 three hotels are in the high 90s, back to pre-pandemic levels. Our F&B outlets, ballroom, and entertainment venues such as DreamPlay are also performing remarkably.鈥�

GOING ONLINE, UPGRADING
Mr. Andres detailed the recognitions they received for the safety and health measures they had undertaken during the pandemic: 鈥淲e instituted stringent sanitary measures during the pandemic. These efforts enabled us to be Safety Seal-certified by the Department of Tourism, which also presented us with the Safe Travels stamp of the World Travel and Tourism Council. Our three hotels were also recognized by international hygiene experts for the initiatives we undertook.鈥�

City of Dreams Manila also concentrated on placing many of their services and operations online. 鈥淲e also focused on digitizing and streamlining processes in operations, harnessing technology in our supply chain procurement systems, and using technology to make our products, services, and reservations more accessible to our guests, such as the use of the dynamic Melco app,鈥� said Mr. Andres.

Other improvements to their operations include sourcing sustainable ingredients for their restaurants, a reduction in the use of single-use plastics (through the installation of a glass bottling and water filtration system and replacing food and beverage containers and utensils with sustainable alternatives). 鈥淎s we sustain the initiative, we are currently reaching about 30-40% waste reduction and waste diversion,鈥� he said.

Meanwhile, The Diamond Hotel has implemented some structural changes: they have improved their heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system (鈥渁lready installed so we have better ventilation and air exchange rates,鈥� said Mr. Reynoso). He added, 鈥淲e installed vents in all bathroom doors so that the increased ventilation will cover the entire room.鈥�

The Diamond Hotel has also retained the use of online facilities, which became necessities during the pandemic when person-to-person contact had to be reduced. These include contactless web check-in and check-out, and more options for online payments. 鈥淭he hotel also continues to capitalize on its existing e-commerce website 鈥� Diamond Online Shopping Site, with offers to further expand the food take-out operations and by developing creative online marketing strategies to engage existing and potential customers,鈥� said Mr. Reynoso. He also pointed out that the website has been operating since 2015, 鈥渨hich made it easier to transition to online selling of Diamond Hotel鈥檚 culinary specialties since the restaurants (were) not allowed to operate on full capacity (during the lockdowns).鈥�

These same practices extend internally, with Mr. Reynoso saying, 鈥淥ptions for meeting on-line/off-site instead of face to face are still valuable even if there is renewed interest in holding meetings face-to-face.鈥�

KEEPING EMPLOYEES
On the subject of workers, Ms. Santos said that in her previous job (prior to joining the Discovery group), she performed the task of three people due to layoffs, resignations, and the like. 鈥淣ow, what I see, it鈥檚 really hard to look for people now, because they have the option to work from home. People now are looking for that kind of arrangement. People are moving to a hybrid work arrangement, which is hard for hoteliers like us (who cannot) work from home. We really have to be onsite to be with our clients and guests.鈥�

As for City of Dreams Manila, the property won the Work Here, Work Happy award from the Forbes Travel Guide in 2022.听 Initiatives to help workers during the pandemic included giving financial assistance through paid leaves from April 2020 to December 2021 to those unable to work; giving bonuses and providing in-house accommodations, full meals, and vitamins to workers who were required to work during community quarantines; and providing assistance for colleagues鈥� vaccination needs, including offering two-way limo services for pregnant employees.

Mr. Andres added, 鈥淲e took the pandemic as an opportunity to further train colleagues through our own learning academy called Melco Absorb, where various courses and programs are continuing and available non-stop. Qualified managers were also enrolled in ECornell courses for free. We promoted colleagues and prioritized internal over external hiring.鈥�

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an industry problem, until now,鈥� said Chroma Hospitality鈥檚 Ms. Bocanegra, reporting resignations and reshuffling at work. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some problems there, but I wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 really that much.

鈥淭he way to do it is just really be more competitive. Instead of thinking of the negativities, we just have to move forward and look for more people. Encourage more fresh graduates, and training 鈥� in our properties, training and mentoring are very important. I think that鈥檚 where we should move forward.鈥�

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The mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to gain traction after the previous Congress passed a law that seeks to develop the Philippines鈥� EV industry.

The law facilitates a shift to EVs by imposing a 5% EV fleet quota for industries that operate vehicles 鈥� such as cargo logistics, food delivery companies, tour agencies, and utilities providers 鈥� within a timeline that will be set by regulators.

In this听B-Side听episode, Terry L. Ridon, an investment analyst and convener of InfraWatchPH, speaks with听大象传媒听reporter Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza about the potential of EVs.

Cost is the number one concern, according to Mr. Ridon. For EVs to be adopted by average consumers, their prices have to be comparable to their gas-powered counterparts.

Recorded remotely in June 2022. Produced by Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia and Sam L. Marcelo.

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Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) recently announced that the Philippines improved four spots in its 2022 World Competitiveness Yearbook.

Based on the 2022 version of the report, the country ranked 48^th听out of 63 economies, climbing up from 52^nd听place out of 64 economies in 2021.听听

IMD looked at the competitiveness of the Philippines via 333 indicators categorized under four factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. The Philippines ranked higher in economic performance (53^rd) and in infrastructure (57^th), but went down in government efficiency (48^th), and business efficiency (39^th).听听听

Despite the improved ranking, IMD World Competitiveness Center Chief Economist Christos Cabolis tells听大象传媒听reporter Revin Mikhael D. Ochave that the Philippines in 2022 faces five key challenges, as provided by the Asian Institute of Management Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness.

TAKEAWAYS

The challenges, as explained by Mr. Cabolis in this听B-Side听episode, are:

Implementing effective post-pandemic economic recovery strategies while strengthening fiscal responsibility.听

鈥淚t is the provision of liquidity. Rightfully, the years of the pandemic create the necessity to try to balance that. We try to balance that in two ways. First is to phase out this liquidity support by strengthening the economy and secondly to see how the debt that has been acquired by the country can be sustainable. What exactly is the primary budget balance. How we can bring that in a manageable position, and therefore how we can strengthen the fiscal responsibility.鈥澨�

Regaining lost momentum in poverty reduction and inclusive economic development.听

鈥淚f one tries to see what are the short-run issues and solutions that the government has to try to tackle is the inflationary pressure. This exacerbates the issue of poverty and by addressing that, one hopes that the poverty issue can be eliminated. Poverty reduction is a much more complicated issue that needs to be addressed not only from the inflation point-of-view.

鈥淚nclusivity of economic development is a must, especially if one tries to see what exactly is going on with the societal framework that we try to measure for each economy we study.鈥澨�

Promoting innovative governance and a smooth post-election transition of power.听

鈥淭his deals with how the government will be able to make the steps to have a transition in power which will be smooth and to build the credibility that the solutions that it will provide will be good for the country and also good for the residents of the country as a whole.听

鈥淚n general, what we see after elections is that new governments enjoy the positive sentiment of the people, the positive sentiment of the business community. Essentially, the challenge for the new government, in my opinion, will be to take that and use it effectively because most of the time, this does not hold for a long period of time. Use this as a springboard in order to accomplish some short-run objectives that they have in mind about the economy, which essentially will be the momentum to move into the more challenging parts of the future.鈥�

Building resilient and future-ready health and education systems.听

鈥淭he health system should not only deal with the issue that we have right now, which is the COVID-19 pandemic. But essentially, look forward and try to make sure that it will be ready for the next pandemic. We are not yet out of the pandemic.

鈥淲e need more investments in education. What will be good to see is where these investments will have the highest impact. Most frequently, it is a portfolio of things that should happen. You cannot have new infrastructure unless you have people who will use these effectively. Investments should also be made for long-term learning.鈥澨�

Investing in sustainable infrastructure and reducing climate change vulnerability.听

鈥淭his is a very important task. What will be the future of the economy? What do we need to do? Do we need to continue whatever we do trying to increase certain parts of the economy or do we make a decision where we try to look at the issues that two generations from now will have to face?鈥澨�

Recorded remotely June 2022. Produced by Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia and Sam L. Marcelo.

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By Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia, Reporter

THIRTY-YEAR-OLD Inah Rodriguez, who鈥檚 been selling baked goods for 15 years, diversified into dishes ranging from Indian to Italian to maximize profit amid a coronavirus pandemic.

A banker by career, the owner of home-based brand The Sweet Twist said a tenth of her operational costs go into packaging, an industry that has grown in the past year as more people ordered and had their food delivered on their doorsteps.

Ms. Rodriguez chose one of the biggest box manufacturing companies based in Sta. Mesa, Manila as one of her packaging sources. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e the biggest supplier, you tend to sell it a little bit cheaper,鈥� she said in mixed English and Filipino.

She is riding on a wave of prepackaged food during the pandemic, when there has been a newfound appreciation for single-use packaging versus waste reduction. Consumers expectedly want their food and its packaging handled by as few people as possible.

Everyone is jumping on the packaged food bandwagon after President Rodrigo R. Duterte locked down many parts of the country in mid-March to contain a global coronavirus pandemic.

A number of restaurants were forced to shut down, though some have managed to shift their business model to food delivery and through apps created by technology companies.

鈥淢ore restaurants will go digital, and that is why resto meal kits and the availability of their proprietary ingredients will be their creative divergence, from regular food takeout or delivery,鈥� Llena Arcenas, a manager at San Miguel Foods Culinary Center, told a recent online news briefing.

鈥淚t will also be their effort to relive and sustain the restaurant experience at home,鈥� she said.

Revenue from San Miguel Corp.鈥檚 (SMC) prepared and packaged food segment grew by 9% in the nine months through October, as packaged food became an essential item for consumers under the so-called 鈥渘ew normal.鈥�

Sales of canned meats such as Purefoods Corned Beef, SPAM and Tender Juicy Hotdog increased by double digits.

INCREASED DELIVERIES
鈥淒airy products and breakfast items were also big hits during the quarantine,鈥� the company said in a statement. San Miguel also released a line of heat-and-eat versions of Filipino favorites such as kare-kare, a peanut-based stew.

SMC鈥檚 packaging business also increased deliveries to pharmaceutical, beverage and food customers as well as to the export market, according to its financial statement.

Australia, Malaysia and China operations remained stable, though sales still fell behind during the three quarters.

Total group revenue at Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery company Grab jumped by about 70% year on year in 2020 and had recovered to comfortably above pre-pandemic levels, according to Reuters, citing President Ming Maa.

Almost 12,000 merchants joined the Grab platform in the Philippines at the height of the health crisis between March and June last year, according to a statement on its website. Sales of small businesses grew by at least 57% during the period.

The 2020 edition of the Tetra Pak Index cited changing priorities in a post-pandemic world. While consumer鈥檚 main concern in 2019 was the effect of their choices on the environment, last year, it was mainly about food and safety, according to the report.

More than two-thirds of consumers thought food safety is a major concern for society, it said. Uncertainty about the future triggered stockpiling and a sense of responsibility for future food security, according to the report.

Quarantines also served as a trigger for consumption occasions that included 鈥渁ll-day snacking, indulgence and home cooking.鈥�

While most companies have trained their workers about proper product handling, extra care is needed to ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

There鈥檚 no evidence that handling or consuming food is associated with COVID-19, and the risk of getting sick with COVID-19 from eating or handling food and food packages is considered very low, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, there鈥檚 no harm in being safe.

BIG HIT
Ian Carandang, founder of Sebastian鈥檚 Ice Cream, started selling online during the pandemic.

鈥淭his would normally not be that big of a deal if one鈥檚 products weren鈥檛 time-sensitive like cookies or bread,鈥� he said in an e-mail. 鈥淏ut for ice cream, every second counts.鈥�

Mr. Carandang said he spent months testing styrofoam containers in ice, freezer bags to keep ice cream dry and left the boxes out in the sun to simulate delivery conditions.

鈥淲e tested it to failure, seeing how long the ice cream stayed frozen under those conditions before it began to soften,鈥� he said.

鈥淥ur staff was already trained for maximum sanitation and safety before this, so the only addition was instructing everyone to use masks,鈥� the entrepreneur said. 鈥淲e already practice food safety as a matter of procedure, and the only addition was to wipe down the pints before packing them for delivery.鈥�

Expenses rose because of packaging costs, but the online business paid off.

Deliveries were a boon to Sebastian鈥檚 Ice Cream, which has a branch at The Podium mall in the Ortigas business district in Pasig City, during the Christmas holidays, Mr. Carandang said.

鈥淏efore, the company was never able to cash in on the Christmas food rush because ice cream could not be bought and given to people as presents,鈥� he said. 鈥淒elivery finally allowed us to market ourselves as a viable gift option.鈥�

In contrast, sales at its Podium branch were just 25% of what it was before the coronavirus, Mr. Carandang said.

鈥淲ith the sales produced last year, I would say it was a hit,鈥� Ms. Rodriguez said of her online dish business. 鈥淐onsidering that I鈥檓 only doing this part time, I鈥檓 surprised and at the same time feel blessed with continuous weekly sales.鈥�

She鈥檚 adding more products to her menu and bringing back season鈥檚 favorites as the summer approaches, she said. 鈥淢y goal is to open my own caf茅, hopefully five years from now. I鈥檓 already excited. It鈥檚 a dream come true.鈥�

By Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia, Reporter

THE INITIAL panic that set in during the beginning of the March lockdown has become something else altogether in the months we have spent indoors.

On the outside, the world continued to move at its usual rapid and sometimes violent pace. But on the inside, millions of people were trapped indoors, worrying about their futures and unable to connect with friends and family. What effect might that ordeal have had on the mind?

鈥淎t this point, we鈥檙e trying to get by. But the trials come one after the other,鈥� said Dr. Gia Sison. Dr. Sison works in the field of occupational medicine, but is also a mental health advocate. She appears on social media, mainstream media, and podcasts raising awareness of mental health issues.

Dr. Lou Querubin, Chief Medical Officer of Mindcare Club, an organization offering remote mental health services, said: 鈥淭he most common mental health issues during a disaster, like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic, are anxiety and depression. The COVID-19 viral contagion brought with it a fear-anxiety contagion that stimulated the human instinct for survival. We instinctively shifted into 鈥榝ight-or-flight鈥� mode, which explains the early episodes of panic-buying, (which was ultimately) an effort to get the fear under control,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s the pandemic dragged on, people experienced both concrete and ambiguous losses: concrete losses in the form of unemployment, lost income, and the death of relatives and friends.鈥�

Dr. Querubin highlighted the experience of ambiguous loss, a concept introduced by psychologist Pauline Boss. Ambiguous loss 鈥減ertains to losses for which we have had no closure, or those that leave us feeling lost and in limbo…The best examples are COVID-19 deaths where people are admitted to hospitals and no visitors are allowed. The fact that many died alone and the bereaved did not have the opportunity to go through rituals of grief and loss 鈥� such as a vigil or wake…Another good example is 鈥榣oss of time鈥�. It鈥檚 almost been a year now since COVID-19 broke out.听 We have all lost so much time for things originally planned 鈥� like weddings, travel, vacations, training and education.听 Time is a very clear example of ambiguous loss 鈥� we have time and yet, we have lost lots of time.听 The irony of that concept needs thinking and reflection for each of us to make sense of what we have lost and what we gained at the same time,鈥� she said.

Dr. Sison, meanwhile, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e already dealing with reality. That鈥檚 difficult. It鈥檚 something uncertain. We don鈥檛 even know when this will end. That in itself is a big stressor. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e confronting now.鈥�

Both agree that the COVID-19 struggle looks different when viewed through various lenses. While others mourn the loss of their freedom of movement, others lost their lives and livelihood. Dr. Sison said the pandemic affected privileged people as well as those without it. 鈥淚t is a battle. Even without the pandemic, every day is a battle for everyone. We have different struggles.鈥�

Dr. Querubin doesn鈥檛 view the mental health struggle as anything so straightforward as winning or losing the battle. When the problem has become collective, the analysis becomes more complex. 鈥淢y thinking is that there are several battles going on at the same time at different levels.

The master narrative underlying everything is the global battle to contain the virus, a public health disaster that is cruelest to the poor and vulnerable everywhere, devastated economies no matter how rich, and overloaded health systems no matter how advanced.

Dr. Querubin added, 鈥淭he more abstract battle happens in our minds, and in the context of relationships.鈥� She calls this 鈥渕eaning-making.鈥� 鈥淚ndividuals who are able to reflect and make sense of how they are thinking, feeling, or responding to everything happening around them are the ones most able to understand themselves and how the pandemic is affecting them.鈥�

An unintended consequence of the pandemic is the increased discussion of mental health. Your typical picture of the occasional depressed individual, shut in and confronting one tiring day after another, is multiplied by the millions.

According to a joint statement issued by the Department of Health (DoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Center of Mental Health (NCMH) reported that as of September, its crisis hotline 鈥渉as revealed a significant increase in monthly hotline calls regarding depression, with numbers rising from 80 calls pre-lockdown to nearly 400.鈥�

Dr. Sison said she has received an increased volume of messages asking for referrals for psychiatrists and psychologists. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a long-term problem. It鈥檚 not just COVID-19 as an illness, physically. There鈥檚 already a mental health aspect that we have to incorporate when you want to deal with it holistically.鈥� Dr. Querubin concurred, saying, 鈥淭here is increased awareness about the mental health needs of populations.鈥�

Dr. Sison added that while there have always been calls for increased awareness and advocacy 鈥� she lobbied for the Mental Health Law of 2018 鈥� 鈥淚t was amplified by the pandemic. More people started to talk about it, again, and again, and again. Consistency is key when you鈥檙e in an advocacy. For me, it should never stop.鈥�

Pointing to her own background in occupational medicine, Dr. Sison noted that a bank implemented a mental health policy in October. Dr. Sison posits that the sense of urgency may have stemmed from the blurred lines of working from home, in which the personal and the professional have become intermixed. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we would only dream about before. I hope more workplaces would have mental health policies in place for their employees,鈥� Dr. Sison said. 鈥淭hey appreciate it, and they acknowledge it, especially in the workplace.鈥�

Both pointed to the coping mechanisms people have adopted since March, such as new hobbies like gardening or cooking. 鈥淭hat is a coping mechanism,鈥� said Dr. Sison. 鈥淵ou find activities, or you find things that you鈥檙e happy to do. That鈥檚 one thing that this pandemic actually squeezed [out of us]: a lot of people have gone into their untapped talents. They explored a lot of possibilities.鈥�

Dr. Querubin said keeping occupied serves a purpose: 鈥淜eeping our hands busy helps us focus our minds on something concrete, and hopefully, pleasurable. Art and music have always played that role in human history. They are proven balms to our soul and psyche.鈥�

While the darkest days of the pandemic may have passed, the stasis it has produced听 in our lives remains unresolved. Dr. Sison said one possible remedy might be to relinquish control. 鈥淲e really have to realize that there are some things beyond our control. We have to draw a fine line between what we can, and what we cannot control.鈥� While many of us cannot defeat the virus on our own or influence policy, we do have a choice in how we choose to react to events.

Dr. Querubin, meanwhile, points again to meaning-making. 鈥淭he human capacity for meaning-making is an eternal source of inner peace and courage.听 It helps us make sense of the external environment and hopefully, enables us to reach a point where we realize the choices we have.听 Our awareness of our choices, and the very capacity to exercise that choice 鈥� is very empowering.听 Meaning-making and realizing that we do have a choice, no matter the circumstance, is one good way to win our internal battle.鈥�

Both also consider keeping in touch with family and friends to be vital. 鈥淵ou cannot go through trials or struggles alone. At some point, you need to reach out,鈥� said Dr. Sison.

Some hope has emerged as drug companies report moving forward with their vaccines, but the pandemic has left wounds that a vaccine alone cannot heal. Dr. Querubin said, 鈥淭he virus is here and it will stay, like the flu, measles, chicken pox, etc. Perhaps this phase of the pandemic will be over, but COVID-19 as a virus will remain in our midst. From a medical perspective, I will encourage everyone to improve their immune systems by eating healthy, getting enough sleep, maintaining a reasonable level of physical activity that promotes fitness.听 If you have a pre-existing illness that makes you high-risk, stick to the recommended treatment regimen with greater dedication.鈥�

Dr. Sison points out that the vaccines may not be released to the general public until the third quarter of next year, adding the delay to the basket of things people worry about daily. Nevertheless, 鈥淚 think the healing starts today; and every day of the year. We don鈥檛 have to wait for 2021,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou get by; you take it really one step at a time.鈥�

Dr. Querubin added: 鈥淔rom a psychiatrist鈥檚 perspective, my recommendation is we heal as we go.听 There will likely be no clear endpoint when we can say it is all over. We need to mind ourselves moment to moment, day to day.听 Be kind to ourselves and to others as best we can everyday.听 We cannot start to heal when everything is over; we heal as we go.鈥�

鈥淲E HAVE food at home.鈥� In normal times, an excuse to skip eating out. During a pandemic, a blessing.

By this point in the public-health emergency, most people will have foregone dining out for months on end, and some may still be reluctant. The pressing question for the restaurant industry is, when will the need for escape from the chore-laden banality of home cooking outweigh the fear of eating in public places, no matter how enticing the food?

The quarantine that started in mid-March forced Metro Manila鈥檚 restaurants to close. By mid-June, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) started approving partial-capacity dine-in operations in areas under general community quarantine, allowing restaurants to reopen their doors to guests again after months of getting by on takeout. And while the return to normalcy has been painfully slow, the industry is showing signs of life, though proprietors have had to jump through regulatory hoops and reconfigure their business models to survive.

Myke Sarthou, otherwise known in dining circles and to viewers of cooking shows as Chef Tatung, is a decorated chef with several restaurants an three cookbooks under his belt. He was a speaker at Madrid Fusion Manila in 2016, and represented the Philippines at Madrid Fusion Spain in 2017. He also happened to open two new restaurants, Talisay and Pandan, between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020.

Talisay and Pandan closed when quarantine was declared and reopened in the first week of June.鈥漈here is only so much we can do considering that both restaurants are barely a year old,鈥� he told 大象传媒 in an e-mail. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on a wait-and-see mindset at the moment. We are still hopeful we can recover. We鈥檙e not ready to throw in the towel yet.鈥�

Over at Flossom Kitchen + Cafe in San Juan, Marketing Manager Janna Arceo Lim said, 鈥淔or the most part it really is coping with the uncertainty. It was quite hard in the beginning because we really didn鈥檛 know how long the quarantine will run. We were also very worried about our employees because when we weren鈥檛 operating they also didn鈥檛 have any income. Most of them have families that they need to support.鈥�

Testifying before the House Committee on Trade and Industry in May, Foodee Global Concepts COO Eric Dee said, 鈥淲e have 200 stores and closed all of them. We tried to open a few for delivery (to earn) revenue, and we are not hitting our target.鈥� Foodee Global Concepts is responsible for bringing in Michelin-starred brands FOO鈥橠, Tsuta, Hawker Chan, and Tim Ho Wan to the country, alongside a stable of homegrown and international brands. 鈥淲e did indeed close 200 restaurants, and as the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was lifted we opened a few stores (one for each brand) to practice the new safety protocols that we have in place, as well as to test the market and see if our projections are correct or not,鈥� he told 大象传媒. 鈥淲e initially projected 30% of pre-COVID sales. If we used to make P100, we projected P30. Even at that conservative number some of the stores are not hitting that number.鈥�

The typical playbook for closed restaurants is to seek other means of bringing cash in, like takeout or cook-at-home frozen food. Flossom鈥檚 Ms. Lim, said, 鈥淲e actually started selling frozen and pre-packed versions of some of our dishes. This way when people order their favorite dishes from us they won鈥檛 have to worry about it spoiling. They can cook and enjoy their food anytime they want.鈥�

Mr. Sarthou went a different route by channeling his pent-up creativity into his online community and cooking channel, Simpol. 鈥淚 have a very strong online following. We reach over 10 million people monthly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just as stimulating. It鈥檚 different but equally challenging, considering the volume of material we produce regularly. It鈥檚 really hard work.鈥�

He defended the decision to completely close down during quarantine, saying, 鈥淥ur restaurants are built for the dining experience, the food being just one of the components. We felt that going into takeout and delivery will actually ruin the brand experience.鈥�

鈥淏esides,we were not built for that kind of business. We did not want to get into it unprepared or doing something sub-standard. Secondly, it would not be sustainable in the long run. We projected to lose more by operating on such a small scale.鈥�

Asked why preserving the restaurant experience mattered so much, Mr. Sarthou said, 鈥淎side from ambience, which may seem superficial to some people, food quality is a bigger concern especially when your food is quite technical to prepare. You need proper equipment, and food has to be served in a certain order to be able to deliver the best quality. Sometimes it does not translate when it鈥檚 packed and reheated at home. I can only speak for my restos, but we just felt we were not ready to make the shift.鈥�

Mr. Dee added, 鈥淥ur brands are experience-based restaurants and not just about the food. It鈥檚 about the overall experience of service and ambience along with the food. The industry has pivoted into deliveries and takeout so we had to figure out a way to convert an experience into a microwavable takeout container 鈥� its hard.鈥�

Asking about how the pandemic has changed the landscape, Mr. Dee said,鈥� This crisis has definitely accelerated digitalization 鈥� people are now more used to using delivery services, paying online, and such. I believe we have advanced five years into the digitalization timeline. In Foodee, we were already in the process of digitization so this crisis has just expedited our process.鈥�

Mr. Dee said the pandemic will slow the group鈥檚 expansion plans, making him a potential bellwether for the overall industry, considering Foodee鈥檚 size. 鈥淲e are definitely going to downsize: that is a given. We will look into optimizing our store locations and look for and eliminate redundancies. With the downsizing of stores, there will definitely be downsizing of people,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o expansion, PERIOD. It will be survival and optimization for us until we get back on our feet.鈥�

鈥淣ow the vicious cycle begins, and believe me. we are just at the beginning of it.鈥�

Mr. Sarthou, who pivoted to cooking shows, is also looking at real estate issues. 鈥淚 swore off malls years ago and I think it was the best decision ever. I think the business dynamic between landlord and restaurant will change drastically especially in the mall arena,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o much is still uncertain at this point. Surely market attitudes will change. The question really is whether it still is a good idea to operate a resto considering the scenario.鈥�

The dining experience will be just one of many things that will need to change, aside from how we work, dress, or even show affection. 鈥淭he culture of dining out will really change in the next few years,鈥� he predicts. 鈥淒efinitely more people are cooking at home again.鈥�

鈥淪urely our businesses will adapt, maybe at a slower pace than others, but we are very open to that. We are just cautious, having less resources than our bigger counterparts.鈥�

鈥淥n the other hand, the shift puts me at an advantage somehow because of the reach and influence I am developing through my content. In the meantime, when people cook at home, I can be with them. And when everything goes back to normal, perhaps it would be their chance to visit me in my restaurants.鈥�

Mr. Dee said, 鈥淭he overall foot traffic isn鈥檛 there and people aren鈥檛 confident about dining out yet. The fear still lingers and I am afraid it will linger until a vaccine is found. But even then, the stigma will be there and we will still have to continue our efforts on safety and making our diners feel safe and confident again.鈥�

鈥淏esides the values people already know from our brands, now more than ever, we will have to push for safety and gaining back consumer confidence.鈥�

On a more cheery note, he concluded: 鈥淲e are confident that people will dine again, the question is when.鈥�