Gov’t must support full revival of MSMEs to ease unemployment — Eleazar

Senatorial candidate Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar

To address the high unemployment rate and joblessness amid the COVID-19 pandemic, senatorial candidate Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said that the government must provide assistance to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Eleazar bared his legislative plans to generate jobs and curb the rising unemployment rate in the country due to the devastating effects of the pandemic in the economy on the DZRH’s “Bakit Ikaw?” senatorial interview last Friday (April 8).

“Itong MSMEs, dapat ay mabigyan ng incentives at mas magandang pagkakataon na mas mabuhay at lumaki. Iyon dapat ang mabigyan ng atensyon dahil doon nanggagaling ang job opportunities ng maliliit nating mga kababayan,” he said.

According to 2020 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there were a total of 957,620 business enterprises that have been operating in the country nationwide.

Of these, 952,969 or 99.51 percent are MSMEs and 4,651 or 0.49 percent are large enterprises.

Together, the MSMEs generated a total of 5,380,815 jobs or 62.66 percent of the country’s total employment.

But the pandemic forced the closure of many businesses and among the first to go down were the MSMEs.

The PSA said last Thursday that the unemployment rate in February was at 6.4 percent which translates to 3.13 million Filipinos who have no job.

Among the proposals of Eleazar to generate jobs is to provide grants or incentives to small businesses which are hardest hit by the pandemic.

“Kailangan natin i-revive and maliliit na mga kabuhayan dahil ito ang pinakamalaking contributor sa paggenerate ng mga trabaho. Dapat ay mabilis at efficient ang pagpapaabot ng mga tulong pinansyal sa kanila para agad na makabangon ang ekonomiya,” he said.

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