Concepcion: MSME loan bill lives up to Marcos promise

MANILA, Philippines — Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion welcomed the filing of a bill at the House of Representatives that aims to expand loan programs of state-run banks to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

In a statement yesterday, Concepcion said House Bill No. 1 or the proposed “Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery or Guide Act” lives up to the pledge of President Marcos to support Filipino entrepreneurs.

“The President pledged his support for the MSMEs and I am glad that the first act of his son in Congress is to support a bill that does exactly that,” Concepcion said.

He met with the President last June 15 to discuss pressing issues affecting the country’s MSMEs. Both agreed that MSMEs would be crucial in the country’s path to prosperity, as it comprises 99.5 percent of all business establishments in the Philippines and generates 62.6 percent of jobs for Filipinos.

HB1 mandates the government financial institutions Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to expand their loan programs for MSMEs affected by the COVID pandemic.

HB1 allocates P7.5 billion to Landbank and P2.5 billion to DBP to expand lending programs to help small businesses throughout the country recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.

“The government financial institutions are mandated to expand their credit programs in order to assist MSMEs to meet their liquidity needs. In particular, the LBP and DBP are mandated to expand their credit and rediscounting facilities to affected MSMEs in the agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and service industries,” the bill read.

HB1 joins Sen. Loren Legarda’s Senate Bill No. 8 or the Pangkabuhayan Bill that seeks to institutionalize the various livelihood programs of different government agencies for MSMEs under one umbrella program.

Badly needed

MSMEs that bore the brunt of the global health crisis badly need government intervention to recover from the effects of the pandemic, according to lawmakers pushing for HB1 or the P10-B MSME aid package.

HB1 was authored by Ilocos Norte First District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, Leyte First District representative Martin Romualdez and Tingog representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.

“The proposed law authorizes the Landbank and the DBP to create a special holding company to further reinvigorate MSMEs and strategically important industries heavily affected by the pandemic,” they said.

The authors likewise dubbed their pet measure as the GUIDE Bill, where Landbank and DBP will be “mandated to rediscount loans to eligible MSMEs.”

“The measure seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to provide the needed assistance to MSMEs, and other strategically important companies,” the lawmakers stated in their explanatory note.

“The President may increase the bank’s capitalization upon recommendation of its board and the concurrence of the Secretary of Finance,” the authors said, referring to DBP and LBP. – Delon Porcalla