DTI urges Congress to pass Pesa bill

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has urged Congress to pass the proposed P1.3-trillion Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 (Pesa).

The postpandemic stimulus package includes a budget of P650 billion for an expanded infrastructure program on health care, education and food security, the DTI said.

“The Department of Trade and Industry is seeking the urgent passage of the proposed Pesa, which aims to provide immediate assistance to workers and businesses and help the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the DTI said in a statement.

The DTI said the proposed law would also allot P300 billion for the National Emergency Investment Corp., which sought to minimize the damage caused by the pandemic to the economy.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez did not respond to requests for further information on the use of the P300 billion as press time, however.

Moreover, the DTI also said that the proposed bill would allot P200 billion for wage subsidies and interest-free loans to assist micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, including businesses that were deemed “nonessential” during the lockdown. The bill, the DTI said, will also allot P128 billion for the credit mediation and restructuring guarantee fund, an expanded loan program that will cover all critically impacted businesses nationwide.

The DTI said that the bill had also been the subject of many consultations and hearings under the committees on economic affairs under chair Sharon Garin and trade and industry under chair Weslie Gatchalian, which consolidated the proposals of Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo.

“We affirm the need to help sustain the income of workers and businesses adversely impacted by the pandemic as we gradually reopen our economy,” Lopez said in the statement. “By providing working capital assistance, technical and entrepreneurial education, and financial management, among others, we will be able to protect Filipinos by ensuring businesses will continue operating postlockdown and help turn the tide for businesses and workers affected by the health crisis,” he added.

Business groups, including the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, likewise back Pesa.

“We are grateful that our policymakers saw fit to craft a fiscal and economic stimulus program to help industries get back on their feet. We are hoping for the accelerated passage of the bill with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” said PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico in an online forum earlier this month. INQ