DTI’s SB Corp. temporarily stops accepting MSME loan applications

The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) corporate arm Small Business Corp. announced Saturday it has temporarily stopped accepting loan applications for small businesses that needed capital to keep financially afloat amid the COVID-19 crisis.

SB Corp.’s COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program was launched in March, but acceptance of applications had to be stopped since last month as thousands of applications overwhelmed the allotted P1 billion budget for the program.

“Actually we have temporarily suspended the acceptance of loan application, pero muli po namin itong bubuksan, siguro po, by mid-August po ay muli natin itong bubuksan,” SB Corp. Senior Vice President for Planning Advocay Frank Lloyd Gonzaga said during the Laging Handa public briefing.

“Kami ay nakatanggap mula po noong in-open natin ito ng mga mahigit-kumulang na dalawampu’t tatlong libong aplikasyon na may kahalagahan po na around P3.4 billion, if I’m not mistaken po ‘no,” Gonzaga said.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez earlier said that the CARES program was oversubscribed and it needed more funds.

“Sa ngayon po ay nakapag-aprubahan na po kami ng, siguro po, mga 5,000 application na po ang ating naaprubahan kaya nagkakahalaga ng mga around P500 million already,” Gonzaga said.

Micro enterprises with asset size of not more than P3 million are allowed to borrow from P10,000 to P200,000, while small enterprises with asset size of not more than P15 million may borrow up to P500,000. — DVM, GMA News