One of the ‘ten wise men’
HE represents a segment of society composed of your neighborhood — sari-sari store owner, proprietor of a bakery that you patronize for your daily morning ritual of hot pandesal, a head of the cellphone accessory shop down the block, a franchisee of ubiquitous small food kiosks at the local mall, a manager of the low-priced clothing store (ukay-ukay) where you bought that second-hand Levi’s 501, and even a man behind that small internet cafe.
They are the constituents of Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodoro “Teddy” Haresco — a sector that comprises 99.6 percent of all businesses, and accounts for the employment of almost 70 percent of the working population.
Haresco is the voice of the selfreliant Filipino micro-entrepreneurs—those whose enterprises have an individual capital of below P3million, such as jeepney and tricycle drivers, food stall and sari- sari store owners, market vendors, blind masseurs, home workers in the garment industry, small producers of goods like handicraft, furniture, and candies, among others.
He and his group formed Kasangga to microfinance dozens of cooperatives for the benefit of market vendors, farmers, tricycle drivers, masseurs, and handicraftsmen.
Haresco has since had a very robust performance as congressman. Flourishing his work at the Lower House, in fact, that a one term in Congress is not enough for this dynamic soul whose pri-
BY ALITO L. MALINAO MANILA: The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging an internecine war in the Southern Philippines since the mid-l970s, has condemned the recent spate of kidnappings in Mindanao.
In an editorial published in the MILF’S official website “Luwaran.com,” the rebel group said that kidnapping local residents or foreigners is “an unconscionable act that deserved to be denounced and condemned in the highest degree.”
The editorial was issued on the eve of the resumption of the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF in Kuala Lumpur which ended Wednesday.
The Kuala Lumpur meeting, the 25th round of formal exploratory talks, failed to resolve contentious issues, making it impossible for both sides to craft a peace agreement within the first quarter of this year, which the government has looked forward to.
In their joint statement issued at the end of the talks, both sides merely expressed “satisfaction on the progress of their discussions and recognizing the many challenges that have yet to be resolved in order to find a political solution to the Bangsamoro question and the armed conflict in Mindanao.”
The two parties also acknowledged “the need to explore creative approaches that will address the political, legal and other di- mary motivation in life is to spur the growth and sustainability of micro entrepreneurial businesses in the country.
Entrepreneurship development, to improve a Filipino’s productivity, income, quality of employment and social life—these are just one of the few of his advocacies.
Time and again, he has made known his unflinching belief that micro- entrepreneurship is the seed for the country’s development and stable economy, putting on the ground businesses that attract the development of hard infrastructure, such as buildings, farm- to- market roads, bridges and highways.
Indeed, data has consistently showed that micro- entrepreneurs play a very vital role in the country’s economic and social development. They usually absorb unemployed members of society — those unable to find employment in the open market. They also provide input to the formal sector ranging from manufacturing parts and supplies to labor for production.
Thus, they provide income to a large segment of the population. Without this income, the socio-economic pressures would be insurmountable.
More importantly for Haresco, these businesses increase human capital—providing jobs, but also skills and training, opportunities for other livelihoods, and perhaps the most important of all, the self esteem that comes from earning a living.
It is unfortunate, however, that until now, micro-entrepreneurship has not been given full support by the government in terms of developing and protecting the sector which is actually the backbone of our economy.
It is time for the country to have someone in the government who would give the marginalized sector of micro-entrepreneurs the support and importance they deserve—and Haresco as congressman paves the way for such.
Like Haresco, we are also a staunch supporter of the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises whose salient features include the 10 percent mandatory allocation of credit resources for ten years and the formulation of a six-year MSME development plan.
No doubt, its passage into law ( Republic Act No. 9501) is a great opportunity to maximize the social and economic benefits that the country would gain in the industry.
However, the effects of the law are yet to be felt, particularly in addressing the challenges that the industry faces, such as, lack of research and development, inadequate access to technology, dif- ficulty in acquiring capital, and lack of marketing advice and logistical problems.
We believe that the Magna Carta for MSME, if fully implemented, would strengthen the industry.
The law is already in place and all we need is someone who would implement it staunchly so that micro-entrepreneurship will become the backbone of the Philippine economy.
And this is the role Haresco has assumed.
Being a strategic expert that he is, Haresco reiterated a need to develop Disaster Plans and strategies focusing on geopolitical events and their far reaching detrimental effects on the Philippine economy.
We also discovered that the Kasangga party list congressman is the principal developer of a nationwide scholarship fund for the children of slain journalists, a unique project that has yet to be duplicated.
This is significant, especially when one considers that if most of the murder cases remain unsolved, then it stands to reason that the benefits to the beneficiaries of the victims are not immediately forthcoming.
Just recently, I met Haresco for the first time as a guest in my Sunday radio program, “Reklamo Publiko” in Iloilo City.
I agree with late Speaker Ramon Mitra who classified Haresco as one of the “ten wise men” in the country whose expertise in economy and business is much needed in these critical times our nation is facing.