THE Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) said the proposed Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 (PESA) should cover all critically-impacted businesses nationwide, not just those in Luzon.
In a May 5 position paper urging the passage “in a month’s time” of the bill backed by the
Economic Stimulus Response Package (ERSP) cluster in Congress, Philexport also suggested that business entities availing of grants and loans or loan guarantees through other provisions of the Act should not be disqualified from pursuing any other form of economic relief measures so as to prevent business closure especiall of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We strongly recommend that this Act cover all critically-impacted businesses in the country,” said Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., Philexport president, who added MSMEs account for some 60 percent of the country’s employment and 30 percent of GDP.
Critically-impacted businesses refer to community quarantine (CQ) non-essential business entities in industries directly impacted by the disruption in travel and the transport of goods and services such as tourism, air transportation and trade, or significantly displaced as a result of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
PESA is a consolidated economic stimulus bill being drafted in the House of Representatives prescribing an economic stimulus package for critical sectors to help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The paper was addressed to Representatives Joey Salceda, Sharon Garin and Stella Luz Quimbo, all co-chairs of the ERSP cluster at the lower house.
To promote retention of workers, the bill also provides for Department of Labor and Employment wage subsidies to critically impacted businesses, amounting to at least 25 percent but not more than 75 percent of actual payroll costs for a period equivalent to two months.
On this, Philexport suggests that the period equivalent to two months refer to the period when the CQ was implemented and another month after it was lifted.
Philexport also suggested to continue observing the ease of doing business timelines of 3-7-20 as part of recovery measures, as regulatory relief “is an all-time important intervention particularly during crisis.”
On the provision on wage subsidies, Philexport recommended only the minimum of requirements, like a certificate of employment and compensation from the employer with just the latest payroll slip. “Proceeds may be coursed through the employers who already have the payroll system to facilitate the disbursement,” Ortiz-Luis said.
On the Small Business (SB) Corp.’s P20-billion loan program for MSMEs under the bill, the paper recommends that SB deputize Negosyo Centers nationwide to accept, review and ensure that applications for loans comply with requirements, as well as empower the centers to provide the status of these applications. This is to facilitate the processing of applications.
“This function may also be delegated to industry associations also as a form of vetting. Likewise, anticipating the huge number of applications, we recommend that loan proceeds be distributed via bank transfers to lessen people movement and facilitate the release,” said Ortiz-Luis .
He added the P10-billion loan program for agri-fishery enterprises could also follow the same bank transfer scheme to facilitate fund release.
But Ortiz-Luis said this budget should “be at least doubled, considering the existing issues of the agriculture industry in terms of productivity, technology and climate change.”
The export group proposes an additional provision to fast-track the full computerization of all government agencies’ functions especially those on trade facilitation, service continuity and ease of doing business.
