Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. shared his plans for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and economic growth under his presidency when he took his turn as the featured candidate on Go Negosyo’s “Kandidatalks” series.
The Go Negosyo’s “Kandidatalks” series with the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard bearer reached more than one million people and attracted 379,000 total views when it streamed live over Go Negosyo’s Facebook page last Wednesday, Dec. 1.
Marcos, during the show, talked about his plans of rationalizing taxes and allocating portions of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to MSMEs, strengthening the country’s agriculture and transport sector, and continuing President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build Build Build“ program. The former senator also reiterated MSMEs importance in helping the country recover from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People need jobs, and the biggest bang for our buck are the MSMEs. The effect of any effort we have to help MSMEs will be felt immediately,” the former Ilocos Norte congressman said, adding that big corporations will also feel the need for MSMEs which have faced challenges this year.
“Most people are willing to become entrepreneurs, but we find MSMEs in a difficult situation. If we have ayuda for individuals, we should have ayuda for MSMEs,” the former lawmaker added, saying that most MSMEs have used up their savings, borrowed capital, and are now stuck with debt.
According to Marcos, local government units (LGUs), can allocate funds to help MSMEs while guiding them in their business plans. The former legislator believes that a portion of the IRA can be allotted to support MSMEs, which was made possible by the Mandanas ruling which increased the IRA of all LGUs.
“We need to teach them all the things needed to run a self-owned business. They have the capacity from the added IRA, now the capability and training has to go into that,” said the former Ilocos Norte governor who believes organizations like Go Negosyo can help assess the business plans of MSMEs.
Marcos stated that efforts in developing small businesses should start in areas where COVID-19 cases are low and vaccination rates are high.
As to MSMEs affected by the pandemic, the former legislator said that the short-term solution is to give spending power to the people and that medium to long-term solutions must involve developing the country’s transport system, not just for people but also for goods.
He added that the pandemic exposed the weaknesses of the country’s supply line, as demonstrated by the need for cold storage for vaccines and the challenges in getting goods across during the lockdowns. The country’s ability to build a good transport system will be crucial if it is to take advantage of the rise in demand next year as economies start to recover.
When asked by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion III on which of his father’s legacy he wishes to continue, the former lawmaker said that it has to do with the Philippine economy.
”The most important thing is a sense of nationhood that we felt when he was President,” Marcos said.
“One of the first things we felt during COVID was the food supply problem. It showed the weaknesses in our agricultural system,” the former Ilocos Norte solon said when asked by a leading businessman about his plans for agricultural productivity.
Recalling former President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ “Masagana 99” program, the former Ilocos Norte vice governor said that the country’s approach must go beyond planting rice, but also extend to R&D, searching for resilient varieties, supporting farmers in securing loans, and accessing agricultural products such as fertilizers and pesticides.
Marcos also underscored the need for mechanization to lower production costs and the need for small farms to achieve scale by setting up more cooperatives. He added that the government must provide assistance in processing and bringing products to market.
“This was what NFA used to do: stabilize market prices of commodities and keep prices at a level where farmers can still earn,” said the former one-term senator, who added that the country must have a strategic supply of rice and move past becoming an importer of the commodity.
He added that government initiatives such as the Food Terminal Inc. and the Kadiwa stores proved that there are ways for a successful, vertically integrated solution to agricultural productivity.
He also stressed the importance of infrastructure in long-term solutions for the country so that long-term agricultural solutions would succeed.
“An accompanying program to Masagana 99 was the provision of bancas to fishermen. We need to update that and have bigger and better equipment for our fishermen so they can make a better living. Agriculture is a critical element of the socioeconomic structure; it is the foundation. We cannot build industrialization unless we have a strong agricultural foundation,” said Marcos, adding that other aspects of agriculture must be developed, including high value crops, livestock and fishery.
Marcos also lamented the lack of capital-intensive investments in the country, and attributed it to the high cost of electricity which he said creates the case for more renewable energy, an area he believes the Philippines is resource-rich but is lagging behind.
The former senator added that wants to continue the Duterte administration's “Build Build Build” program, adding that the country’s infrastructure development program must now include digital and power infrastructure. He stressed that online activity increased during the pandemic, and this gave small entrepreneurs equal footing with big brands as consumers started buying from independent suppliers. He also noted that this only emphasized the need to strengthen the nation’s digital infrastructure.
Small entrepreneurs who joined Go Negosyo’s mentoring program also asked questions to the former lawmaker including how he can help those who have been affected by the pandemic.
The former solon from Ilocos Norte said that to help MSMEs who are now in debt, the government must consider granting tax amnesties, especially to those affected by the pandemic. Marcos believes that the structure of taxation for small businesses must be changed to encourage MSMEs to comply with tax requirements and consequently build their credit rating. He added that to help MSMEs succeed they should have lower taxes and their goods must be non-VATable especially for cooperatives earning P10 million or less.
Entrepreneurship he added must go beyond making money, but is also about social transformation, as exemplified by the Go Negosyo mentees who shared their stories with him during the show.
On Fri, Dec 3, 2021 at 2:55 PM Melvin Sarangay wrote: Marcos shares plans for MSMEs, economic growth under his presidency Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. shared his plans for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and economic growth under his presidency when he took his turn as the featured candidate on Go Negosyo’s “Kandidatalks” series.
The Go Negosyo’s “Kandidatalks” series with the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard bearer reached more than one million people and attracted 379,000 total views when it streamed live over Go Negosyo’s Facebook page last Wednesday, Dec. 1.
Marcos, during the show, talked about his plans of rationalizing taxes and allocating portions of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to MSMEs, strengthening the country’s agriculture and transport sector, and continuing President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build Build Build“ program. The former senator also reiterated MSMEs importance in helping the country recover from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People need jobs, and the biggest bang for our buck are the MSMEs. The effect of any effort we have to help MSMEs will be felt immediately,” the former Ilocos Norte congressman said, adding that big corporations will also feel the need for MSMEs which have faced challenges this year.
“Most people are willing to become entrepreneurs, but we find MSMEs in a difficult situation. If we have ayuda for individuals, we should have ayuda for MSMEs,” the former lawmaker added, saying that most MSMEs have used up their savings, borrowed capital, and are now stuck with debt.
According to Marcos, local government units (LGUs), can allocate funds to help MSMEs while guiding them in their business plans. The former legislator believes that a portion of the IRA can be allotted to support MSMEs, which was made possible by the Mandanas ruling which increased the IRA of all LGUs.
“We need to teach them all the things needed to run a self-owned business. They have the capacity from the added IRA, now the capability and training has to go into that,” said the former Ilocos Norte governor who believes organizations like Go Negosyo can help assess the business plans of MSMEs.
Marcos stated that efforts in developing small businesses should start in areas where COVID-19 cases are low and vaccination rates are high.
As to MSMEs affected by the pandemic, the former legislator said that the short-term solution is to give spending power to the people and that medium to long-term solutions must involve developing the country’s transport system, not just for people but also for goods.
He added that the pandemic exposed the weaknesses of the country’s supply line, as demonstrated by the need for cold storage for vaccines and the challenges in getting goods across during the lockdowns. The country’s ability to build a good transport system will be crucial if it is to take advantage of the rise in demand next year as economies start to recover.
When asked by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion III on which of his father’s legacy he wishes to continue, the former lawmaker said that it has to do with the Philippine economy.
”The most important thing is a sense of nationhood that we felt when he was President,” Marcos said.
“One of the first things we felt during COVID was the food supply problem. It showed the weaknesses in our agricultural system,” the former Ilocos Norte solon said when asked by a leading businessman about his plans for agricultural productivity.
Recalling former President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ “Masagana 99” program, the former Ilocos Norte vice governor said that the country’s approach must go beyond planting rice, but also extend to R&D, searching for resilient varieties, supporting farmers in securing loans, and accessing agricultural products such as fertilizers and pesticides.
Marcos also underscored the need for mechanization to lower production costs and the need for small farms to achieve scale by setting up more cooperatives. He added that the government must provide assistance in processing and bringing products to market.
“This was what NFA used to do: stabilize market prices of commodities and keep prices at a level where farmers can still earn,” said the former one-term senator, who added that the country must have a strategic supply of rice and move past becoming an importer of the commodity.
He added that government initiatives such as the Food Terminal Inc. and the Kadiwa stores proved that there are ways for a successful, vertically integrated solution to agricultural productivity.
He also stressed the importance of infrastructure in long-term solutions for the country so that long-term agricultural solutions would succeed.
“An accompanying program to Masagana 99 was the provision of bancas to fishermen. We need to update that and have bigger and better equipment for our fishermen so they can make a better living. Agriculture is a critical element of the socioeconomic structure; it is the foundation. We cannot build industrialization unless we have a strong agricultural foundation,” said Marcos, adding that other aspects of agriculture must be developed, including high value crops, livestock and fishery.
Marcos also lamented the lack of capital-intensive investments in the country, and attributed it to the high cost of electricity which he said creates the case for more renewable energy, an area he believes the Philippines is resource-rich but is lagging behind.
The former senator added that wants to continue the Duterte administration's “Build Build Build” program, adding that the country’s infrastructure development program must now include digital and power infrastructure. He stressed that online activity increased during the pandemic, and this gave small entrepreneurs equal footing with big brands as consumers started buying from independent suppliers. He also noted that this only emphasized the need to strengthen the nation’s digital infrastructure.
Small entrepreneurs who joined Go Negosyo’s mentoring program also asked questions to the former lawmaker including how he can help those who have been affected by the pandemic.
The former solon from Ilocos Norte said that to help MSMEs who are now in debt, the government must consider granting tax amnesties, especially to those affected by the pandemic. Marcos believes that the structure of taxation for small businesses must be changed to encourage MSMEs to comply with tax requirements and consequently build their credit rating. He added that to help MSMEs succeed they should have lower taxes and their goods must be non-VATable especially for cooperatives earning P10 million or less.
Entrepreneurship he added must go beyond making money, but is also about social transformation, as exemplified by the Go Negosyo mentees who shared their stories with him during the show.