The Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) already approved an initial P5 million worth of loans for micro and small firms that are in need of financial aid to pay for the 13th month pay of their workers.
SB Corp. said the amount benefits 25 employers who applied for its loan facility. Another 52 applications are currently being processed by the attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) since it started accepting applicants for the loan facility last Nov. 2, 2021.
SB Corp. officially launched the program last Friday to encourage more qualified companies to apply for the said zero-interest loan.
“The application window will end on Dec. 7 [2021] so we encourage all the interested companies to apply now and not at the last minute because we have to close at some point para to process all the applications before Christmas,” SB Corp. spokesperson Robery “Bobby” Bastillo said during a virtual press conference.
The lending program was created in partnership of DTI and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help companies, which have 1 to 99 employees and are still struggling to cope from the business disruption caused by the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Under the said partnership, SB Corp. will make use of DOLE’s list of vetted small and micro establishments, which implemented flexible work arrangements March 2020 until Oct. 15, 2021.
Of the said list , Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said 8,000 qualified for the loan program base from the criteria set by SB Corp.
The loaned amount, which could range between P12,000 to over P50,000, is payable in 12 months.
Bastillo said they are open to restructuring the loans of companies, which will have trouble with their payments.
SB Corp. President. Ma. Luna Cacanado said their loan facility for 13h month payments will now become part of their regular program even after the pandemic.
She said they are currently in the process of institutionalizing the online application for the loan facility to make it more convenient to those who will avail of it.
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes