THE Regional Development Council (RDC)-Zamboanga Peninsula has urgently requested, through a resolution, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to strictly enforce the mandatory allocation of credit resources to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as provided by law or the Magna Carta for MSMEs.
Pedro Rufo Soliven, RDC-Zamboanga Peninsula Economic Development Committee chairperson, said that providing credit assistance to MSMEs would help them restart and recover from the negative effects of the global health pandemic.
Soliven said the council found the need for the BSP to strictly enforce the mandatory allocation for credit resources to MSMEs as provided under Republic Act (RA) 6977, as amended by RA 9501 to ensure financial inclusion and credit access and to impose sanctions or penalties on banks found to have not followed the BSP guidance on loans.
RA 6977 is otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises as amended by RA 9501 known as the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises.
The onslaught of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has greatly affected the operations of the MSMEs in the country, which resulted in temporary or permanent closure of some businesses and laying off of employees, said Soliven, who is also the president of the Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Incorporated (ZCCIFI).
"Whereas, Republic Act 6977, series of 1991 or the Magna Carta for Micro Small Medium Enterprises was passed to promote, develop and assist small and medium scale enterprises through the creation of a Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council, and the rationalization of government assistance programs and agencies concerned with the development of small and medium enterprises, and for other purposes," part of the RDC-Zamboanga Peninsula resolution stated.
The resolution was approved Thursday, July 8, and authored by Soliven.
"Whereas, Section 15 of RA 9501 states that for the period of 10 years from the date of the effectivity of this amendatory Act, all lending institutions as defined under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rules, whether public or private, shall set aside at least eight percent for micro and small enterprises and at least two percent for medium enterprises of their total loan portfolio based on their balance sheet as of the end of the previous quarter, and make it available for MSME credit as herein contemplated," the resolution stated.
Meanwhile, the RDC-Zamboanga Peninsula, through a resolution, has also requested the BSP to probe the alleged non-implementation of banks on the BSP policy on lowering the interest rates during the Covid-19 pandemic and impose sanctions, if warranted, and for the BSP to ensure access to credit and financial Inclusion.
"Whereas, RA 6977 was amended by RA 9501, series of 2008 or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with the aim to promote entrepreneurship by strengthening development and assistance programs to MSMEs," the RDC said in its resolution.
Soliven said that providing adequate support to MSMEs will maximize their potential employment generation and economic growth of the country.
He said the MSMEs is the lifeblood of the economy, accounting 99.6 percent of total firms and 61 percent of total employment generation, as well as essential in spreading the economy's wealth and income flows, creating more opportunities in the countryside, maintaining social stability and fostering inclusive economic growth in which access to finance is central to MSMEs development. (SunStar Zamboanga)