Presidential aspirant Panfilo “Ping” Lacson reiterated the urgency to prioritize the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to aid the problem of the country’s unemployment rate during an interview in Bogo Cebu, yesterday, April 7. 

Ping Lacson said, “We should revive our MSMEs, which are the biggest supplier of labor. Our MSMEs should be the first to be revived because they were the first to suffer.” 

Lacson mentioned that the MSMEs are still in the process of recovering brought by the effect of COVID-19 along with the impact of rising fuel prices. He added that there is about 99.5 percent of the country’s enterprises; its workers consisted of 63.2 percent of the labor force. 

The unemployment rate of the Philippines was 6.4 percent which has 3.13 million of unemployed Filipinos as of February this year, based on the record of the Philippine Statistics Authority released on Thursday. 

Independent candidate assured the public that if elected he guaranteed the support of the government to MSMEs through financial assistance. Lacson mentioned that the government had at least 20 programs which included micro-financing and credit facilities. 

If elected, Lacson also promised that under his watch he will propose programs to hone the skills of entrepreneurs, and will not rely on their age and disability as the basis for employment.

Photo Credit: Facebook/PingLacson