MANILA, Philippines — A total of P3.8 billion in loans have been approved under a facility to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said during the Ease of Doing Business Summit that total loans approved under the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) Program reached P3.8 billion as of May 5.
He said 40,647 online applications have so far been received for the microfinancing loans program managed by DTI’s financing arm Small Business Corp.
Under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2 law, a total of P10 billion has been allocated for the CARES program.
The loans are available to MSMEs without requiring collateral.
“The online facility is from end-to-end — from loan application to releasing — and processing time is only four to seven days. That includes review of credit standing,” Lopez said.
He said the application for the CARES is being done online as part of the digital transformation initiatives of the DTI.
Another DTI service available online is business name registration.
Following the system upgrade of the DTI Business Name Registration System, Lopez said applicants can now register their business names online, and obtain their business name certificate in just eight minutes.
“From application to online payment, we made it simple to apply, pay, and download,” he said.
He said the DTI has also seen a shift to greater online payments for business name registrations.
Of the total fees from business name registration which reached P525 million last year, he said 68 percent was paid online as compared to 35 percent during the previous year.
He said all initiatives to facilitate ease of doing business through digitalization would allow the country to build back better given the pandemic.
“Ease of doing business will not just help our countrymen become successful in business, it would also give comfort to individuals. This will range from the employment and jobs created from the investments coming in because it’s now easier to do business in the country, to being able to transact with government with a simple touch of a button on our smartphones,” he said.