THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) yesterday said it supports the passage in Congress of a stimulus bill for industries but said beneficiaries to the P1.3-trillion package under the proposal should include upstream and downstream of agriculture and aquaculture as well as public transportation.
In a statement, PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico said the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) needs some refinements to widen the definition of what could be considered “critically-impacted” industries due to the new coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Yujuico said the bill concretizes the group’s Roadmap to Recovery which identified construction, agri-fishery and its supply chain, micro, small medium enterprises (MSMEs) and land transportation as priority.
But Yujuico said under PESA’s classification of critically-impacted industries, only non-essential business entities such as related to tourism, air travel and trade.
He said upstream and downstream of agriculture and aquaculture as well as public transportation should be included as they are critically impacted as well.
“Our food producers have lost significant amount of income because of barriers to logistics posted by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Highly perishable produce have found it difficult to move their way into markets such that they have to be thrown away. The downstream industries such as food processing, retailing and restaurants are similarly impacted having to operate only partially, if at all,” Yujuico said.
The group also sees the need to increase the fund allocated to the agri-fishery in the form of loans, guarantees and grants to cover for the sector’s continuing needs for inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, crop protectants, feeds, irrigation and machinery, research and development and access to markets.
“We propose that aside from the allocation of P6 billion loan allocation, agri-fishery producers and related enterprises should be given grants commensurate to our need to achieve food sufficiency and security, and countryside development. The sector has been neglected in the past and it is only now, under crisis, that the sector has been put in the spotlight for its importance in feeding our people and reviving our economy,” Yujuico said.
Noting the importance of the food production value chain, PCCI noted there is a need to strengthen the grants and loans for industries and services covering the downstream of agri-fishery such as food processing, canning, packaging, marketing and logistics where supply chain gaps can be addressed and forward and backward linkages in the agri-manufacturing-services.
Yujuico also said loans to be provided to MSMEs by state banks should provide more flexibility to truly benefit from the program.
PCCI said the country needs to create an ecosystem that supports and mentors start-ups and young entrepreneurs.
“It is about time we promote the culture of innovation. We are in dynamically changing times; we need to embrace innovative technology to improve agility and efficiency, increase productivity, and induce industrialization,” Yujuico said.
On public transportation, Yujuico said government should also give subsidies st be a means to operators of taxis, transport network vehicle services (TNVS) and public utility vehicles (PUVs)
PESA authored by Reps. Joey Salceda and Stella Quimbo allots the following amounts: P300 billion for the establishment of the National Emergency and Investment Corp. to minimize the damage of COVID-19 to the economy; P200 billion for the grant of interest-free loans to assist MSMEs including businesses labeled nonessential during the quarantines; and P128 billion for the Credit Mediation and Restructuring Guarantee Fund, for critically impacted businesses; P110 billion in wage subsidies and; P500 million for paid sick leaves of employees during the quarantine period.
