Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. MALACANANG file photo / YANCY LIM/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Only around 500,000—or even less—out of the estimated 7 million registered and unregistered micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country are expected to receive aid from the government next year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Friday.
During the deliberations on the proposed 2022 budget of the DTI, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said his agency has around P5 billion to aid MSMEs affected by COVID-19. These funds are from the budget of the department and the remaining funds from Bayanihan 2.
These funds, Lopez said, can be used for DTI micro-financing and livelihood grant programs for MSMEs.
“Sa ating programa ngayon, assuming we have a close to P5 billion, around 500,000 [MSMEs] ang matutulungan or even less kasi di-nivide ko lang sa P10,000,” Lopez said.
(Based on our current programs, assuming we have close to P5 billion, we can help around 500,000 MSMEs or even less because we just divided that to P10,000.)
“Pag more than P10,000 ang pangangailangan, katulad ng iba, ang hinihiram ay P20,000 so it would be around 500,000 or less,” he added.
(If an MSME needs more than P10,000 because some ask for P20,000, it would be around 500,000 MSMEs or less.)
Lopez said that if the government would at least target to increase the number of MSME beneficiaries to one million, DTI needs P10 billion budget, at least.
But Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo pointed out that aside from the nearly one million registered MSMEs in the country, unregistered MSMEs are estimated to be around six million. This means that there are an estimated seven million MSMEs operating in the country.
“Nakakalungkot na wala pang 10 porsyento na mga maliliit na negosyo ang makakaasa ng tulong dahil sa sobrang liit ng pondo ng DTI,” Quimbo said.
(It is saddening that less than 10 percent of small businesses can expect help from the government because of the small budget of the DTI.)
“At the same time, maliit din yung scale ng assistance kasi lumalabas halos sampung libo lang ang nakikita nyong assistance na maibigay na obviously kulang na kulang,” she added.
(At the same time, the scale of assistance is also small because it appears the DTI only sees a P10,000 assistance which is obviously not enough.)
The DTI has a proposed P23.7 billion for its 2022 budget, a bulk of which goes to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which has a proposed budget of P13.64 billion.
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