Spur MSME aid, gov’t asked
The P1.3-trillion ARISE economic stimulus package seeks to allot interest-free loans, and provide education, training and guidance to pandemic-hit MSME
Exporters and a legislator pushed for the passage of stimulus package and other measures as part of the roadmap to help hard-hit micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) recover from the adverse impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and transition their operations to the emerging new normal.
The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) is urging the immediate passage and full implementation of the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) Act which has been passed on second reading at the House of Representatives.
The P1.3-trillion ARISE economic stimulus package seeks to allot interest-free loans, and provide education, training and guidance to pandemic-hit MSME.
DA should step up
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, likewise, appealed to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to assist more agri- and fisherybased micro and small enterprises to bolster food security as part of the efforts to help Filipinos recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.
“In the current crisis, many industries were affected but the flow of food supply should not stop. I am appealing to the Department of Agriculture to help farmers and fishermen for them to have enough food on their table,” Go said.
Through DA’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council, the agency continues to enhance the provision of concessionary loans to marginal small farmers and fishers, including agri-based micro and small entrepreneurs through the Expanded SURE Aid and Recovery Project.
Go said the DA should further promote their initiatives to meet their target beneficiaries most especially that the government is preparing to implement the Balik Probinsya, Balik Pag-asa program (BP2) after the health crisis.
Pass CREATE
Philexport is also calling for the quick passage of the repackaged Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) which will reduce corporate income tax swiftly to 25 percent from the existing 30 percent to help attract investors and increase cash flow especially for MSME, the sector identified as among the hardest-hit by the pandemic.
CITIRA is now the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, or CREATE. Philexport said these measures are in line with the three pillars of its recently launched New Normal Export and MSME Roadmap, namely recovery, resilience and resurgence. Philexport’s roadmap seeks to restart and expand economic activities and transition exports and MSMEs to the digital economy.
Philexport also highlighted the importance of the full roll-out of the P1-billion pandemic Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program of SB Corp. and the Department of Trade and Industry Negosyo Centers.