FAIR trade groups in Cebu province are urging local government units to adopt the Social Enterprise Bill.
They made the call during Saturday’s press briefing for the upcoming World Fair Trade Day on May 11.
Jay Lacsamana, executive director of the Foundation for Sustainable Society (FSSI), said that this would be the source of empowerment down to the community level.
“We should already go beyond livelihood in our government programs. It is time to empower communities and look seriously at social entrepreneurship as a sustainable means for the poor out of poverty,” he said in a press statement.
Lacsamana also said that this is the sustainable pathway to poverty reduction.
Geraldine Labradores of the Southern Partners and Fair Trade Center Inc. said last Saturday that as of this time more people are interested on fair trade.
However, she said that we are still in the second level which is second reading in Congress.
Labradores said that this is why they are holding two major events to further promote fair trade in the province specifically.
These include the Tianggehan sa Fair Trade and Social Enterprise, and the solidarity dinner on May 25.
Labradores also said that they will holding a signature campaign during those dates to urge the provincial government to have an ordinance for Cebu to adopt the bill.
1M signatures
They are aiming to gather one million signatures for that.
Social enterprises (SE) are defined as businesses with a social mission that includes caring for the environment, economic viability or sustainability, and improving the lives of the marginalized, especially impoverished sectors.
Unlike ordinary businesses, social enterprises generate profit with due regard to social and environmental costs and makes a proactive contribution to resolving social and environmental problems.
There are about 30,000 social enterprises in the country operating through various forms such as corporations, non-government organizations doing SEs, cooperatives, and
associations.
House Bill 6085 also seeks to unite and strengthen the SE sector through government support that will eventually make these industries sustainable.
It will provide incentives for SEs in exchange for the social and environmental values that they create for the society.
Major players in the SE sector include the producers of organic agricultural products, coco coir, muscovado sugar, organic rice, essential oils, bamboo, educational toys, school chairs, brewed coffee, health and wellness goods and other innovative products./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus