Pursue a peaceful and innovative path to end poverty

THE following is a partial statement issued recently by Marie Lisa Dacanay, PhD, the Convener of the Poverty Reduction through Social Enterpreneurship (Present) Coalition.

Pursue a peaceful and innovative path to end poverty. Tag the present bill as urgent.

It has been almost a decade since we set up our coalition to lobby for the enactment of the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (Present) Bill. We convey our appreciation for the support that some members of the Senate and its Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship have given. It is of utmost importance that a Bill to recognize, support and enable social enterprises as critical partners of government to end poverty is tagged as urgent and passed now.

As social mission-driven businesses that have demonstrated their role in transforming the lives of the rural and urban poor, and the women of these marginalized sectors, social enterprises have grown by leaps and bounds despite no systematic government support. In 2017, they numbered over 160,000, representing about 18 percent of all enterprises in the country. With the Covid-19 pandemic, social enterprises have had to grapple with recovery even as they continue to pursue their social mission. Ninety six percent (96 percent) of social enterprises we have surveyed have either experienced moderate to severe downturn, with the more vulnerable stopping operations. But those that have survived have adopted measures to respond to a drastically changed situation and are rebuilding and pursuing innovations to recover. In this regard, we propose strengthening the Present Bill’s provisions supportive to building the resilience and recovery of social enterprises in times of pandemics and disasters. With the recognition and support for social enterprises embodied in the Present Bill, not only will this important sector and the poor they serve effectively recover, such will pave a peaceful and innovative pathway to end poverty.