MANILA — The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution requesting President Rodrigo Duterte to allocate PHP6 billion in the 2019 budget for the micro-lending program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
House Resolution No. 1771 highlighted the need to increase the budget for the government’s Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program to provide MSMEs, most especially, micro enterprises an alternative source of financing that is easy to access and made available at a lower interest rate.
Among the authors of the resolution are Reps. Peter Unabia, Jocelyn Limkaichong, Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, Rodrigo Abellanosa, Gil Acosta, Marisol Panotes, Carlito Marquez, Teodoro Montoro and Anna Marie Villaraza-Suarez.
“There is the need to increase the budget for the P3 Program to cover at least 20 percent of the estimated PHP30 billion portfolio of the ‘5-6’ money lending scheme borrowers,” the resolution read.
DTI’s P3 program, implemented through the Small Business Corp., has a yearly appropriation of PHP1 billion.
The resolution noted that the P3 program is in line with Duterte’s directive to replace the “5-6” money lending scheme, as well as with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 to simplify loan processes for MSMEs.
According to the resolution, MSMEs comprise 99.57 percent of all businesses in the country, of which 89.63 percent are micro, 9.5 percent small, and 0.44 percent medium enterprises. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
