MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 06 Jun)- The Philippine Senate has approved on third reading Senate Bill 2593, amending Republic Act 6977 or the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises, to provide greater assistance to the businesses that are the backbone of the economy.
Senator Manuel Roxas II, the proponent of the Senate bill, said that despite SMEs representing 99.6% of the countries’ registered companies, not to mention 70% of the labor force, their contributions to the economy’s growth have amounted to only a little over 30%.
The bill was approved late Tuesday.
He said he foresees this situation changing for the better by increasing financial institutions’ required allocation to SMEs, as well as strengthening the Small Business (SB) Corp., created in 2001 through Executive Order 28, which merged the Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. and the Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises.
“By shifting the allocation of a portion of credit resources from the bigger, more independent businesses to those smaller ones with untapped potential, more people will be able to truly add to the nation’s progress.”
“Two out of three employees work in SMEs. More growth in this sector means more jobs and opportunities,” Roxas said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
He said the changes to the SME Magna Carta will encourage entrepreneurs to invest, who will in turn produce more jobs and more wealth. “With each entrepreneur is a promise of hope for the private sector. The effect is exponential. I see no end in sight to what these entrepreneurs, fired up by available prospects, can achieve,” Roxas said.
The SB 2593 will increase the mandatory allocation of credit resources from 6 to 8 percent. The bill will require all public and private lenders to set aside 8 percent (for micro and small enterprises) and 2 percent (for medium enterprises) of their total loan portfolio to be made available to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises).
The authorized capital stock of the SB Corp. will be increased, from P5 billion, to P10 billion.
Private sector investments in the state corporation will be limited to preferred shares. There will also be a five-year grace period for previous dividend commitments, with succeeding dividends limited to 30% of SB Corp.’s income.
As the House had already passed its counterpart on 3rd reading, both houses are now set to deliberate on reconciling their versions of the measure before the 13th Congress ends this week.
In the southern Philippines, Gov. Sakur Tan of Jolo island welcomed the approval of the bill, saying, it would really help SMEs and provide livelihood to many people.
"This is good and we hope that more important bills would be approved by our lawmakers that will attract investments and provide livelihood to many people," Tan said.
Tan has appealed for local and international investments in Jolo island, which is known for its marine products and coffee beans. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment