A Robredo or a Marcos administration will be good for the Philippines' small business sector, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said.

“Judging from the platforms they (Vice President Leni Robredo and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.) have presented on Go Negosyo’s Kandidatalks forum, both of them understand and prioritize the development of the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector,” Concepcion said in a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

In particular, Concepcion highlighted both presidential aspirants' plans for helping MSMEs gain easier access to capital.

“I am very hopeful that should either one become the next President of the Philippines, it will be good news for our small entrepreneurs,” he added.

Concepcion, who is also Go Negosyo's founder, explained that because the majority of businesses in the country are small businesses, with MSMEs making up 99.5 percent of businesses and generating millions of jobs for Filipinos, the choice of the next President will be a crucial for the country’s millions of small entrepreneurs.

“Big corporations were able to weather the pandemic, but in terms of the country’s economic recovery, they cannot do it alone. We need everybody to be healthy to be able to fully recover from the pandemic,” he said.

“The lockdowns, especially in the earlier months, have affected their working capital, and even their equity, due to losses in income,” he added.

He further said that while the country is slowly opening up and loosening restrictions, many MSMEs will have difficulty recapitalizing their businesses.

During the Kandidatalks forum held late last year, Robredo and Marcos shared with Go Negosyo their plans for MSMEs should they become the next President.

Robredo plans to give MSMEs better access to credit and integration into public procurement programs. She plans to allocate P100 billion in a stimulus package for MSMEs as part of the country’s COVID recovery plan, and provide special loans to help make their businesses ready for the new normal.

Marcos, on the other hand, said he would allocate a portion of Internal Revenue Allotments to MSMEs, grant tax amnesties to those who suffered during the pandemic, and rationalize taxation for small businesses in order to encourage them to pay taxes and build their credit rating. He also believes that renewable energy will help attract capital-intensive investments.

Concepcion further said Marcos appreciates the importance of MSMEs in job creation, and that any effort in this sector will be felt even by the big corporations while Robredo has long been a supporter of MSMEs, and that she understands the framework of helping small entrepreneurs and even incorporates these objectives into her projects.

The presidential adviser observed that both candidates know the great potential of small businesses in alleviating poverty, creating prosperity and greater equality for all.

“I think it will be a top agenda, whoever wins,” he said.