As additional relief, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is looking at the possibility of lowering the fees on the renewal of business permits and expressed support to moves that will grant wage and livelihood subsidies under Bayanihan 3.
At the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) Pre-Summit Dialogue yesterday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency has received complaints from small business owners some local government units (LGUs) are basing the renewal fees from 2019 sales or pre-pandemic when revenues were healthy.
Lopez said thousands have either closed or were just partially operating in 2020 which should have been the reckoning of the business permit renewal fees.
“We will work with the LGUs, the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Bureau of Local Government and Finance on how to address this.
Lopez said to the extend the government can afford it, DTI is supports the proposal of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to grant wage subsidies and requests to grants to small businesses of as low as P3,000 to P5,000 as immediate capital.
“Anything that will help deal with hunger we support that,” Lopez said.
The proposed wage subsidy is P8,000 for three months through payrolls of rank-and-file in companies in restricted sectors with priority to small and medium enterprises. This would benefit about a million workers with a proposed budget of P24 billion. – Irma Isip
