The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is readying livelihood and microfinance programs for small entrepreneurs affected by the Taal Volcano eruption, even as it sizes up the impact of the disaster on the gross value added (GVA) of the economy.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez in an interview said the agency’s technical teams are doing an assessment on the impact on jobs and GVA of the eruption as well as the ensuing threat of a more dangerous eruption.
He said while 60 percent of the companies affected shut down for a day or two, up to Tuesday, they have since resumed operations.
“Some exporters, if at all, would have been on temporary suspension and… others continued to operate,” Lopez told reporters.
Charito Plaza, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), said two major industrial estates, the Lima Technology Center and the First Philippine Industrial Park, both located in Batangas, reported no damage or major disruption to operations and structures aside from the ashfall.
But Plaza said the disaster highlights the need for “locators… to craft their business continuity plans that should outline how they plan to do business in the face of the volcano’s ongoing activity.”
Theo Panga, deputy director-general of PEZA, said operations of companies in ecozones in Laguna and Cavite also normalized starting Tuesday and cleanup activities continued.
Panga said exporters reported no disruptions in the Batangas and Manila ports.
According to Lopez, DTI will focus on assisting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) because the “big companies can take care of themselves.”
“Our initial approach is to profile the MSMEs especially those hard hit. We are preparing a special window for microfinancing,” he said.
The DTI is looking at allocating P50 million as an initial fund from the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) for enterprises which plan to reopen or those about to start a business.
Lopez said the DTI is also readying a livelihood package of P7,000 to P10,000 in livelihood gift card redeemable in stores for those who lost their business.
He said the guidelines for the program will be ready by next week.
“We want to make sure those affected by the Taal (eruption) are able to jump back to business,” he added.
In a statement, Plaza has guaranteed ecozones with PEZA’s requirement to locate away from disaster-prone areas.
“We assure our industry-locators and investors are strict in the enforcement of the geo-hazard laws and the environmental clearance certificate compliance by the ecozone developers, factories, utilities and facilities construction applicants,” Plaza added.
The comments come amid the threats of another eruption of Taal Volcano which may affect more regions in the Philippines including Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
“PEZA management and concerned zone managers in Luzon are coordinating accordingly with locator companies about the condition of affected workers who reside in affected areas of the Taal volcanic activities,” said Plaza.
