Deputy Speaker on Trade and Industry Wes Gatchalian sought a higher budget for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), saying that the 2022 budget allocation is not enough to help over one million registered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as four million unregistered enterprises who have also been greatly affected by the crisis. “We need to increase the overall budget of the DTI for MSMEs. We need to prioritize them amid this pandemic,” he said. 

Gatchalian expressed disappointment after learning of the budget allocated for  DTI, quoting President Duterte in his last State of the Nation Address that “he recognizes the vital role of MSMEs to economic activity, job creation, and poverty reduction”.

Seeing its crucial role in economic recovery amid the pandemic that impacted several businesses and displaced a lot of Filipino workers, the resolution seeks to raise the budgetary allocation by PHP1,623,500,000.00 for the benefit of Filipino small businesses. 

“The resolution further asserts that the DTI, its attached agencies, and the Small Business Corporation may extend loans to registered and unregistered micro-entrepreneurs ignored by the formal banking sector, give training for technology literacy, and provide a safe haven for MSMEs to afford them an opportunity to sustain an existing business or help them recover from the unending continuing difficulties brought about by the pandemic,” HR 2228 states.

However, with the meager budget approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), only a fraction of MSMEs will be served, contrary to the national government’s intention for inclusive recovery amidst the worst crisis. 

Photo Credit: Facebook/weslie.gatchalian