P16.4B credited to beneficiaries of small business wage subsidy –DOF

Out of the P51-billion aid package for small business workers announced in April, the government on Sunday said a total of P16.4 billion has been credited to beneficiaries so far.

In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said as of May 12, 2020, a total of P16.4 billion has been credited so far, equivalent to P5,000 to P8,000 per qualified worker depending on the minimum wage level in the area.

READ: How to avail of the government's Small Business Wage Subsidy program

The Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program covers some 3.4 million workers in the formal sector, employed by some 1.4 million businesses that were either forced to shut down or can only operate on limited capacity due to the enhanced community quarantine and other restrictions.

The SBWS interagency task force is chaired by the DOF, represented by Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito "Tony" Lambino II. He is joined by Social Security System (SSS) president and chief executive officer Aurora Ignacio and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) deputy commissioner Arnel Guballa as members.

According to the SSS, some 160,000 employers submitted applications for the program which ended on May 8, 2020.

"The SSS is currently processing them, but so far, the applications for around 2.94 million employees have been approved according to program criteria," said SSS' Ignacio.

"This represents around 86% of the program’s target of 3.4 million small business employees," she added. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/LBG, GMA News