Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan urged the Senate to act swiftly on a House-approved measure that aims to encourage the growth of microentrepreneurs by providing them easy-to-access capital through low-interest, no-collateral loans.
“Small businesses with enough profits and opportunities to expand. This is what we envision in pushing for the swift passage of the bill institutionalizing the government’s Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (Funds for Change and Development) or P3 Program,” said Yamsuan, who recently filed his candidacy to run as representative of Parañaque’s 2nd District in the 2025 midterm elections.
According to the lawmaker, the P3 Program also aims to shield microentrepreneurs from the usurious lending practices of “five-six” moneylenders.
Five-six moneylenders are so named because they require borrowers to pay 6 pesos for every 5 pesos they lend out. This means a high nominal interest rate of 20 percent that they charge over an agreed-upon period of time, which drives borrowers deeper into debt.
Yamsuan said institutionalizing the P3 Program, which would ensure that this microfinancing program remains sustainable over the long term, aligns with his H.O.P.E. platform for Parañaque City’s 2nd District.
Yamsuan is among the principal authors of House Bill 7363, or the proposed P3 Act, which was already approved by the House of Representatives on the third and final reading last year. Meanwhile, several counterpart versions of the P3 Act in the Senate have yet to reach plenary approval.
