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Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Wednesday said he is looking at the possibility of having a single financing facility to provide assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
He added that this can be done by pooling the funds of government agencies offering the same program to create just one financing facility.
"Ang iniisip namin ni Senate President (Vicente) Sotto rito, i-streamline natin. Bakit di natin i-pool sa isang pondo kung saan ilagak natin para alam ng MSME na tinamaan ng pandemya o anumang crisis, giyera ng Russia sa Ukraine, sa climate change, kalamidad, meron agad silang pupuntahan na ahensya kung saan accessible sila (Senate President Sotto and I were thinking, why not pool all these into one fund to help MSMEs, whether they are hit by the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, climate change, or other calamities? The bottom line is they will know where to seek assistance)?" Lacson said during an interview with One PH's "Kandidatalks".
He added that MSMEs account for 99.5 percent of our enterprises, and 63.2 percent of the country's labor force.
Lacson, however, said that while various government agencies have at least 20 programs including micro-financing and credit facilities, MSMEs may not be aware of them.
Lacson said he and Sotto were surprised to learn that there are such programs under the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture, among others.
As they are unaware of these programs, Lacson said many MSMEs resort to borrowing from private banks because they do not fully understand the requirements to avail of government assistance. (PNA)
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