Senator Bam Aquino urged government regulators to reduce unnecessary requirements and address corruption affecting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as entrepreneurs face inflation, a weakening peso and recurring natural disasters.
Aquino made the call during a Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship hearing, where he pressed government agencies to examine regulations that consume the time and capital of small businesses.
He said the economic difficulties faced by entrepreneurs do not reflect a lack of hard work, perseverance or ambition. Instead, many need additional capital, knowledge, opportunities and government support to keep their businesses operating.
MSMEs account for nearly 99% of registered enterprises in the country and generate about two out of every three jobs, making their resilience important to overall economic stability.
Aquino said small businesses bear much of the impact when natural disasters disrupt operations and when a weaker peso raises the cost of raw materials, fuel and imported goods.
He also pointed to regulatory delays and additional fees as burdens that can reduce funds available for business capital, employee salaries and household expenses.
Aquino said long queues and processing delays can also prevent small business owners from opening their establishments and earning income.
He raised separate concerns over corruption and extortion, which he said can further weaken businesses already struggling with higher operating costs or recovering from disasters.
Aquino called on regulators, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to consider business size, risk and financial capacity when imposing compliance requirements.
He said government should not apply identical requirements to large corporations and small neighborhood businesses, and instead create rules appropriate to the scale and capacity of smaller enterprises.
Among the measures pending in the Senate is an update to the Magna Carta for MSMEs and the Go Negosyo Act, or Republic Act 10644. The proposed changes seek to extend access to capital, mentorship and microinsurance to nontraditional and digital entrepreneurs, including online sellers, freelancers, content creators and social enterprises.
Aquino also cited a proposed Local Farmer and MSME Procurement and Voucher Program that would establish direct government procurement mechanisms for products from local smallholders and MSMEs using existing government social assistance funds.
Another proposal seeks to establish a Creative Economy Agency that would provide infrastructure, funding and export support for digital and creative businesses, based on the model of South Korea’s Korea Creative Content Agency.
He also pushed targeted red tape reduction and audit safeguards, including transparency measures for tax audits, disclosure of BIR Letters of Authority, lower BFP inspection fees and streamlined FDA approvals.
Aquino said the government should also provide targeted incentives to major job creating industries, including IT-BPM, electronics, semiconductors, shipbuilding and the blue economy.
He urged government agencies to openly identify regulatory problems and areas where reforms are needed, describing the approach as “real talk.”
“Sana po sa araw na ito, maging tapat tayo, real talk… Real talk, huwag po tayo mahiya sa isa’t isa. Yung mga ahensya po dito, alam naman natin, wala naman perpektong ahensya. Marami mababait at maayos sa tao sa gobyerno pero alam rin natin, marami rin mga nag aabuso,” Aquino said.
He said the government’s role is to help small businesses stay open, expand and create more jobs rather than become an obstacle to their growth.
Aquino said the long term goal is to help businesses move from micro to small, small to medium and medium to large enterprises while making them more capable of withstanding economic and external shocks.
“Trabaho naman natin sa gobyerno na tiyaking suportahan sila at hindi maging sagabal sa kanilang tagumpay. Tulungan po natin manatiling bukas ang mga maliit na negosyo,” he said.
“Tulungan po natin silang lumago, lumikha ng mas maraming trabaho at umangat mula micro patungong small, small patungong medium, medium patungong large hanggang po maabot ang mga pangarap po nila,” he said.
Photos courtesy of Kaiser Jan Fuentes, PH Senate
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