IP as collateral, substandard rebars are recent conflicting developments in business

CALL it the dictates of the natural flow of events, but opportunities in human strides sometime produce variant outcome.

Last Tuesday, two conflicting developments in business appeared as news items in this newspaper. One will boost entrepreneurial drive, while the other will erode consumer confidence.

The thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country were given a big lift-up by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

The influential business organization urged the government “to establish a valuation and financing mechanism to facilitate the use of intellectual properties (IPs) as a commercial tool.”

The PCCI stressed that such mechanism can help motivate SMEs to innovate, thus, enhancing their competitive drive.

By so doing SMEs will be a force to reckon with “in the regional and global markets.”

For one thing, in the SME sector is an abundance of intellectual property assets that can ignite the country’s economic cycle to become more vibrant. Thus, giving this group wider opportunities to members who have often been by-passed by government incentives.

“Intellectual properties are pivotal assets in converting them as “intangibles” in professional valuation. Such action will aid the financing plans of SMEs,” said a university economics professor I talked to last Tuesday.

Notably, PCCI President George Barcelon said the establishment of a policy framework allowing the use of IP as collateral for business loans provide an additional tool for SMEs to establish their credit worthiness.

“This will help improve their access to formal lending from banks and other financial institutions,” he added.

Further, SMEs have been encouraged to protect their intellectual property, with emphasis on their looking at the value and potential it can generate.

As I can see it, this high-profile development has long been anticipated by the thousands of SMEs all over the country. They, sure, will take advantage of it.

Meanwhile, there was this dismaying news of the discovery by an independent team composed of construction engineers that substandard reinforcing steel bars (rebars), reportedly imported, were allegedly used in damaged structures affected by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Samar and Leyte last July 6.

The probing team was sent by the Philippine Iron and Steel Industry (PISI) to the ravaged towns in Region-8. Their findings were detailed in a letter the team sent to the Department of Trade and Industry.

The team has urged DTI to investigate the group’s findings. And maybe later on, the agency can go after the importers of the allegedly inferior rebars.

It goes without saying that the alleged substandard reinforcing steel bars would be blamed for the destruction of public and private buildings in the Waray provinces.

The inspection team has called on DTI to immediately organize its own team that will monitor and inspect substandard rebars. They might be made available again in hardware stores and used in the rebuilding of fallen structures to the detriment of the general public, the PISI team said.