Zubiri pledges to double DTI's microfinancing budget for MSMEs in 2018

Seeing the significant role that micro, small, and medium enterprises play in the country's economic growth, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri pledged to push for the doubling of the Department of Trade and Industry's budget for loan financing to help small businesses grow.

"Kasi itong taon na ito nagbigay kami ng P1 billion para sa microfinancing program ng DTI pero nakita po natin na napakaliit no'n... kulang," Zubiri told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN 2017 MSME Development Summit in Pasay City on Friday.

"So hopefully by 2018, kasama ang ating chairman sa committee [on fianance] na si Sen. Loren Legarda... we committed to double it to make it from P1 billion to P2 billion ang ating pondo para sa microfinancing," the senator noted.

The DTI has earlier launched the Pondo para sa Pagbabago ang Pag-asenso (P3), a microfinancing loan program to help small businessmen easily access capital with low interest rates, in 30 of the poorest provinces in the country.

The budget allocated for the said loan program this year is P1 billion. The P3 program also aims to counter the "5-6" lending scheme, wherein "loan sharks" charge borrowers with interests as much as 20 percent.

"Gusto rin po natin madagdagan ang pondo para sa shared services facilities, P1 billion as well," Zubiri said.

"Shared services facilities, ito 'yung mga equipment na kailangan ng mga kooperatiba, micro-entrepreneurs para sa kanilang iba't-ibang negosyo," he added.

The senator noted that MSMEs comprise 99.5 percent of businesses all over the country, and account for 63 percent of jobs.

"Kaya kailangan talaga natin itong sector na ito para lalong lumaki at lumago ang ating ekonomiya," Zubiri said.

"We can achieve tiger status very fast and very soon if we increase MSMEs in the country," he added. —KG, GMA News