SEN. ROXAS CALLS HIMSELF MR. MSME

Mr. Palengke’ signs treaty, calls himself ‘Mr. MSME’



By Debra Magallon-Estero
Sunstar Daily Cebu

MICRO, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) have found a champion in Sen. Mar Roxas after he told a Cebu-based business group that he is not just “Mr. Palengke” or “Mr. Padyak” but also “Mr. MSME.”

Roxas, last Saturday, signed a covenant with the Filipino-Cebuano Business Club Inc. (FCBCI) in recognition of the MSME sector’s potential to generate employment and contribute to the economy.

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The senator, who reportedly has plans to run for president in the 2010 elections, was the guest speaker of FCBCI during its second general membership meeting at the Parkmall in Mandaue City.

“Pag wala ang MSME, wala ang ekonomiya ng bansa, kaya bigyan ko ito ng pansin ang covenant natin (Without the MSME, we will not have a strong economy so I will give attention to this covenant),” Roxas said.

FCBCI president Rey Calooy said the group came up with a covenant to be signed by those who are running for the presidency. He clarified, though, that the group is not endorsing anybody.

Priority

“We just want the pre-sidentiables to give priority to the MSME sector, especially when 70 percent of the labor force is from this industry,” he said. He added that Roxas told the group that if he will be given a chance to lead the country, he will be serious in helping the industry.

Last March, FCBCI invited Sen. Manny Villar to grace the group’s first general membership meeting. But the senator was unable to make it and sent a representative, instead.

FCBCI is trying to invite Sen. Francis Escudero for another activity in August.

Under the covenant that Roxas signed, the senator made the commitment to “promote, support, streng-then and encourage the growth and development of MSMEs in all productive sectors of the economy, particularly in rural and agri-based enterprises.”

The covenant also states that to encourage the MSME sector, the government should provide access to sources of funds for MSMEs and do away with “stringent and burdensome” collateral requirements.

Calooy said that despite the passage of the Magna Carta for MSME last year, MSMEs still find it hard to apply for loans since banks continue to require collaterals. The long processing of loans in government financial institutions, on the other hand, has discouraged many MSMEs.

Albert Awe, FCBCI vice president, said that based on his experience, it took eight months for his loan to be released.

“The availability of funding is crucial for the businessmen,” he added.

Aside from access to financing, the covenant also specified the need to put safeguards to protect the credit delivery system; establish common service facilities for large and small enterprises; and the establishment of a feedback and evaluation system to monitor economic contributions, bottlenecks and environmental effects in the development of the MSME sector.