CL posts highest number of barangay micro enterprises in PH for 2017

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Among all the regions in the country, Central Luzon registered the most number of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) for 2017.

According to a report of the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office III (DTI-3), a total of 6,752 BMBEs were registered with the 627 Negosyo Centers nationwide in 2017.

The figure for the first seven months of 2017 more than doubled the total number of the 641 BMBEs registered in Central Luzon last year.

For the period January to June 2017, the 47 Negosyo Centers in the region have assisted 1,258 establishments in registering as Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE), the highest number of BMBEs registered in the country for the same period. Region IV-A and Region 7 followed with 1,080 and 762 respectively.

In Central Luzon, Nueva Ecija registered the most with 273 new BMBEs, followed by Zambales with 237 and Pampanga with 196. Bulacan had 190 new BMBE registrants while Bataan had 173. Aurora and Tarlac had 101 and 93 new BMBEs respectively.

By registering as a BMBE, micro enterprises with asset size of less than P3-million enjoy the incentives provided by the RA 9178 or the BMBE law, including income tax exemption arising from the operation of the enterprise; exemption from the coverage of the Minimum Wage Law; priority to special credit windows for the financing requirements of BMBEs; and technology transfer, production and management training and marketing assistance programs.

Under the renewed guidelines of DTI Administrative Order No. 1, series of 2016, establishments qualified to the BMBE category are issued a Certificate of Authority by the DTI before they are registered for exemption with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Labor and Employment.— Warren Serrano/ DTI-3