As the COVID-19 pandemic sinks economies around the world leading to record rates of unemployment, politicians, scholars, and other key actors across the ideological spectrum have increasingly turned their attention to basic income guarantee. Against the backdrop of growing international policy interest in basic income as a pathway toward equitable and transformative social protection systems, this study seeks to present a preliminary analysis of the prospects of implementing a basic income guarantee in the Philippines. The study is chiefly based on desk review of normative literature on social protection and development. It examines theoretical arguments for and against basic income drawing upon relevant empirical evidence where necessary. The findings indicate that, while there is limited international experience for benchmarking a prospective basic income guarantee, the current pandemic makes a compelling case for introducing the scheme as a platform for channeling immediate crisis response.
