THE country’s umbrella organization of exporters is pressing for the urgent passage of the “Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020” (Pesa) to provide immediate help to exporters and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), while also urging that the bill cover all “critically impacted businesses” nationwide, not just those in Luzon.
In a position paper sent to the Congress early this month, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) issued a strong call for the draft bill “to be passed in a month’s time especially for the benefit of our MSMEs and their stakeholders.”
The letter signed by Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. noted that the far-reaching ill impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have extended to the MSMEs in the countryside, which are in the supply chains of enterprises and corporations in Luzon.
“In this context, we strongly recommend that this bill cover all critically impacted businesses in the country,” stressed Ortiz-Luis.
MSMEs account for some 60 percent of the country’s employment and 30 percent of the gross domestic product.
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 Philippine economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
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 Covid-19 outbreak.
The position paper also suggested that business entities availing themselves of grants and loans or loan guarantees through other provisions of the bill may not be disqualified from pursuing any other form of economic relief measures so as to prevent business closure.
The paper was addressed to Reps. Joey Salceda, Sharon Garin, and Stella Luz Quimbo, who all co-chair the economic stimulus response package cluster of the Congress. (Philexport News And Features)