Pro-entrepreneurship bill gets final House nod

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a measure which seeks to further promote, strengthen and encourage the growth and development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

All 212 members of the

House in plenary session voted for the approval of House Bill (HB) No. 8714, which was principally authored by Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr.

The bill aims to strengthen the financing programs for MSMEs, amending for the purpose Republic Act (RA) No. 6977, as amended, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta For Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises”.

“The MSME Sector accounts for 62.8 percent of total jobs generated by all types of business establishment in 2014. Of the total number of MSMEs, 90.3 percent are micro enterprises, 9.3 percent are small enterprises and 0.4 percent are medium enterprises,” Rodriguez said.

The Mindanao solon said that despite its importance to the economy, the lack of access to financing and related forms of support continue to be a major handicap to them.

Under the bill, the national government, its bureaus, offices and agencies are mandated to allocate at least 10 percent of all its procurement opportunities for goods and services to eligible MSMEs in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reforms Act”, and its implementing rules and regulations.

The proposal expands the membership of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Council with the inclusion of the Secretary of Finance, three representatives from the MSME sector to be designated by a national organization representing and dominated by MSMEs as members.

Also forming the advisory unit to the council are: the Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Authority; a representative of a national organization representing and dominated by MSMEs; a representative of the microfinance nongovernment organizations (NGOs) designated by the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council; one representative from the women sector designated by the Philippine Commission on Women; one representative from the youth sector designated by the National Youth Commission and a representative from non-stock savings and loan associations designated by the Alliance of Non-stock Savings and Loan Institutions, Inc. (ANSLI)

SB Corporation powers

The bill also states that the Small Business (SB) Corporation shall have a board of directors to be composed of 13 members which shall include the president of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); and the president of the Social Security System (SSS).

All members of the board, except for the ex-officio members, shall serve for a term of three years and may be reappointed to another term unless earlier revoked.

Included in the specific powers and authorities of the board of directors is providing for the organizational structure, staffing pattern and compensation of employees and personnel of the SB corporation, for submission to the Governance Commission for GOCCs.

One of the provisions of the bill is that the SB Corporation can extend all forms of financial assistance, except grants and subsidies, to eligible MSMEs, and not preclude retail lending in areas where private banks are not able to serve.

The measure stipulates that the SB Corporation shall be exempt from securing prior BSP authorization for engaging in quasi-banking activities and shall not be subject to BSP supervision and regulation for such activities.

On the other hand, the board of the SB Corporation, through its chairman, shall be fully responsible and accountable for the performance of the Corporation’s mandate.