PRESIDENTIAL aspirant and Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao on Tuesday pledged to provide full support to small businesses as a means to “save the people” from hunger and poverty.
“We need to strengthen and pour full support to smaller businessmen because they are the ones truly providing livelihood and bringing food to the tables of our fellowmen,” he said in a statement in Filipino.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for 99.5% of the total number of business establishments in the country, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.
If elected in the May 2022 elections, Mr. Pacquaio said he will allocate funds to finance interest-free loans for MSMEs.
With adequate attention to MSMEs, he said, “more of our countrymen will be given livelihood and this would result in no hunger.”
More one-stop shops and online portals will also be set up, he added, to ensure corrupt and hassle-free processing of all business permits and loan applications.
“There are many who are afraid to do business because of corruption and the complicated document processes,” he said. “We will fix all of this.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan