Former Vice President Jejomar Binay sought government measures to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) amid the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Binay, who is running for senator in the May 9 elections, proposed grants for MSMEs so they can continue giving salaries to their workers even when alert levels are raised.
He said the money can be given directly to workers, and MSMEs will not be required to pay the government back.
“I propose extending grants for MSMEs so they can continue paying their workers even when they are forced to downscale or shut down. The money can be given directly to the workers. Since this is a grant, the MSMEs will not be obligated to repay the government. This has been done in Makati,” said Binay in a statement.
The former vice president was referring to the Assistance and Support to Businesses program initiated in 2020 by the city government of Makati, where he also served as mayor.
At the same time, Binay also urged government to subsidize the cost of testing for MSME workers “so they won’t need to worry about paying out of pocket or burdening employers with the cost of testing.”
He also proposed giving tax breaks for MSMEs until the state of emergency declared as a result of the pandemic is over.
“If we do not take these steps, there will be a breaking point. You cannot expect the economy to recover when businesses are closed and workers are sick,” he said.
Binay made the proposal after economic managers warned last week that placing Metro Manila and nearby provinces, or NCR Plus, under Alert Level 3 would result in economic losses totaling P3 billion.
The senatorial aspirant expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of authorities to heed the warning from experts against prematurely loosening restrictions during the holiday season.
“Experts have warned against a repeat of the holiday surge in 2020 if restrictions are loosened prematurely. The emergence of the Omicron variant should have given the authorities reason to pause. They did not. So here we are again,” he said.
Binay said MSMEs and their workers “are among the first to be dislocated” whenever the economy is reopened without adequate social and health protection for workers and small businesses.
“It is best to assume that the pandemic will not be over soon. We should plan for a long-term program to help small Filipino businesses and their workers,” he said.
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