ON TOP of passing the bill that promotes social entrepreneurship, advocates of the solidarity social economy (SSE) will also be lobbying local government officials to pass an ordinance on social entrepreneurship.
According to Southern Partners and Fair Trade Center, Inc. (SPFTC) managing director Geraldine Labradores, it is not enough to pass a bill on social enterprises but make this visible in smaller communities through ordinances.
She said this will not only strengthen the advocacy to protect small traders but also recognize the impact of social enterprises on the country’s poverty reduction efforts.
In the Philippines, there are about 32 fair trade enterprises linked to thousands of producers across the country. Fair trade organizations support and assists small producers in capacity building, market linkage, product improvement and marketing not only in the domestic level but also international, through fair trade’s global counterparts.
But despite the longstanding presence of social enterprises in the country, Jay Bertram Lacsamana, executive director of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society, said policies, laws and issuances governing the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have not adequately served the MSMEs and marginalized sector.
He said strong economic growth of the country is not yet felt by those in the lower sector.
“With the social solidarity economy, we hope to achieve a well-rounded triple bottom line,” said Lacsamana.
Labradores said social enterprises in Cebu are not that sustainable yet as small producers still face land and capital problems. “The sharing system of land is not favorable to farmers yet and the lack of access to capital is still a major concern,” she said.
Despite these concerns, Labradores said fair trade organizations like SPFTC are working with the Department of Trade and Industry to help small producers package and market their products.
“Social enterprises in the country should step up to cope with the stiff competition in the market,” she said. “We envision social enterprises to also record growth similar with big companies here.”
The Philippines has 30,000 social enterprises. The Poverty Reduction Through Social Entrepreneurship (Present) bill seeks to promote social entrepreneurship in the country.