Duterte, Cayetano push for P1B regional credit access for micro and small businesses

Davao City mayor and presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DAVAO CITY – Micro and small entrepreneurs will have the chance to expand their small businesses with a P1-billion regional credit access being pushed by presidential candidate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and his running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

Cayetano unveiled the Duterte-Cayetano proposal during the recent Ronda Serye – a community consultation event – here.

Cayetano said under the presidency of Duterte, micro and small enterprises would be able to borrow capital from the government to expand their business.

He said the idea would be better than the 4Ps program, where the financial assistance was limited and fixed. Cayetano clarified though that the 4Ps programs would not be automatically scrapped under the Duterte administration.

However, he said that more programs that could uplift the conditions of the people should be crafted.

Cayetano said small businessmen have had nobody to turn to but loan sharks while “rich businessmen can get capital from their family, bank, or by selling their properties.”

“The poor business like vulcanizing shop, sari-sari stores, carinderia or parlor can only get capital by borrowing from loan sharks,” he said, adding that instead of earning for themselves, small businessmen were actually sustaining loan sharks.

Cayetano said he and Duterte had agreed that it would be much better to give P1 billion per region through local government units so micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) could apply for a loan to start or sustain their existing small businesses.

He said if government was capable of providing P62 billion for 4Ps, it could provide P1 billion per region for the MSMEs.

He said unlike the dole-out system for 4Ps where a beneficiary would get a fixed amount of P1,200, MSMEs’ businesses would have the chance to grow if they were provided capital by government.

“If we want real progress, we should help everyone, not just the big businesses,” he said.

Cayetano clarified though that the fund would be provided to associations of MSMEs and not individuals. He said examples would include tricycle associations, vendors associations or cooperatives.  SFM

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