Three-term Senator and Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda (File Photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant Loren Legarda wants to improve the implementation of the Philippine Innovation Act to spur economic growth by helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Legarda said that the proper implementation of Republic Act No. 11293 or the Philippine Innovation Act, which she authored, should help the country produce highly skilled members of the workforce and help further enhance the capacities of MSMEs and allied sectors.
Legarda said the national government may utilize science, innovation, and technology in transforming the Philippines into a competitive nation, “we must adopt a broader view in developing its goals and strategies covering all potential types and sources of innovation,” she said in a statement.
The former senator then urged the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), the Department of Trade Industry (DTI), and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to ensure that the law is adequately funded and that the pressing needs of the various sectors, particularly the MSMEs, are properly addressed.
These include access to finance, coaching, and mentoring in the areas of design, technology extension services, quality control, marketing and promotion, patents, and other forms of intellectual property rights.
Legarda has also suggested that by putting a premium on innovation, government agencies can pursue convergence with other institutions to add greater value to existing programs, citing the convergence between the DOST and the University of Antique (UA) as an example.
Three-term Senator Loren Legarda visits the Bagtason Loom Weavers Association booth at the Antique Harvest fair.
The DOST’s Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST), which Legarda funded under the 2019 national budget, established livelihood support hubs in UA campuses and technology-based barangay economic enterprises (TechnoBEEs) in select municipalities in her home province.
This project has generated employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, increased the productivity level of the municipalities, and even curbed the problem of malnutrition through the production of DOST-FNRI complementary food in Antique.
As Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance in 2018, the budget allocation of Shared Service Facilities (SSF) program increased from 50 million to 1 billion, thus allowing more MSMEs all over the country to access capital, skills building, and technical assistance.
“MSMEs constitute 99.5% of our local economy. Training, research, and development efforts are needed for the MSMEs to come up with innovative and useful products that can be sold in the market and benefit the consumers,” Legarda said.
“We have to ensure the effective implementation of and adequate funding for the enabling programs under the Philippine Innovation Act to help MSMEs sustain and promote their businesses, not just in the domestic market, but also in the global arena.”
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