RECOVERY financing is available for businesses affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami), particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Acting Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Roque said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had set aside funds for disbursement under state-owned Small Business (SB) Corp. for typhoon recovery.
“We have… [a] P2-billion fund for the enterprise rehabilitation financing,” she said, adding that affected businesses should contact SB Corp.
Acting Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Loans of up to P300,000 are available, with zero interest for the first year and one percent per month for the following year.
Roque said that the DTI had made the qualifications “not difficult” — MSMEs will only have to prove that they exist and operate in areas hit by the storm.
“[F]or businesses impacted or business owners who are concerned, please take advantage of this fund. Just go to sbcorp.gov.ph to register,” she added.
SB Corp. is a government financial institution under the DTI. Its focus is to provide MSMEs the much-needed access to finance to help them grow their businesses. The program covers losses in inventory, operational disruptions, revenue decline and damages to fixed assets.
Earlier on Friday, meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the DTI was monitoring seller compliance with regard to price controls in areas under a state of calamity.
He also directed the department to ensure the unhampered flow of goods in all affected areas.
In the Palace press briefing, Roque said that the department was aggressively monitoring prices and also looking at potential profiteering cases.
“The Department of Trade and Industry remains committed in assuring the customers that… basic needs will be available and… prices will be monitored as strictly as possible…,” she said.
“[A]gain, we really will do everything we can to be able to make the businesses, especially the MSMEs, bounce back from this,” she added.
Be the first to comment