Baguio City still has ₱100-million to cover its planned loan program to boost local Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) heavily impacted by the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
City Budget Officer Leticia O. Clemente, chairperson of the city’s Local Finance Committee (LFC), said the funds for stimulus package will be drawn from the P150-million earlier appropriated for COVID-19 containment operations.
The fund had not been fully utilized, she added.
It could be remembered, the ECQ enforced by the national government to arrest spread of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) constrained many businesses to cease operations resulting in huge economic losses.
Clemente explained, 50-percent of the initial amount for the MSME stimulus package will be offered to micro businesses, 30-percent will be allocated for small businesses and 20-percent will be used for medium enterprises in the city.
Based on the data obtained from the city Permits and Licensing Division, there are over 23,000 businesses in the city issued business permits in 2019.
Some 20,484 of the registered businesses fall under the micro category, 2,074 under small, 438 are medium and 63 are large.
In terms of contribution to the city’s coffers, micro businesses account for P98-million in business taxes last year; small enterprises contributed P58-million; and, medium businesses, more than P72-million.
Clemente said, part of the draft guidelines for the grant of loan assistance with zero interest and payable within 24-months requires the businesses must have been operational for at least one year.
The interested parties must likewise have valid business permits, she added.
She bared; the city plans to roll out the stimulus package by the 4th week of June up to August this year.
Clemente said that for the second wave of financial assistance, the local government is contemplating on providing similar soft loans for those in the informal sector.
The city even plans to issue business permits for free to convince qualified vendors to register and contribute to the local coffers in the form of taxes, she added.
Earlier, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong ordered the LFC to source out an additional P100-million for financial assistance in the form of loan packages to heavily impacted businesses. DEXSEE PIO