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(Contributed photo) MANILA - Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday urged the government to invest in a national program that will address academic deficiency caused bythe Covid-19 pandemic and avert losses from lack of face-to-face classes. In a news release, Gatchalian said Thursday's Senate hearing on Senate Bill No. 150, or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, revealed that the lack of face-to-face classes for a year will result in PHP10.8-trillion productivity losses over the next 40 years based on estimates by the National Economic and Development Authority. An initial allocation of PHP20 billion is included in the ARAL program. The amount may seem big but Gatchalian said it is only 0.18 percent of looming productivity losses. "PHP20 billion is actually quite cheap to spend on an academic recovery program. On the other hand, if you don't do anything, we lose PHP10 trillion right away," said Gatchalian, chair of the Committee on Basic E