Independent presidential candidate Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson wants to simplify the application process for state-funded loans in order to speed up the economic recovery of small business owners and other stakeholders from the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Lacson reiterated this commitment during his dialogue with residents of Tarlac City who gathered for his town hall meeting held last Monday, April 25 at the Tarlac State University.

If elected as president, he said he would ease the overregulation of government on private businesses.

This topic was discussed when a modest businesswoman reached out to Lacson to express her grievances over the difficult process of applying for low-interest loans from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and even state-owned financial institutions like the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Lacson understood her sentiments as he blamed lack of information dissemination and improper policy implementation concerning the P2-billion worth of public funds allocated for the DTI to help keep the MSMEs afloat. This is separate from the P2-billion fund courtesy of the Land Bank.

“Alam niyo ba na mayroong nakalaan (na) P2 billion? Pang-financing talaga ito. Dalawang klase ito, parehong P2 billion (Did you know there is a P2-billion allocation intended purely for financing? There are two kinds of it, both worth P2 billion). Yung isang P2 billion, ito ‘yung pwedeng ibigay sa napakababang interes para sa mga MSME... Ang problema, bakit hindi kayo sinasabihan? (One of these can be accessed at low-interest rates for the MSMEs... The problem is why have you not been informed?),’’ he said.

“Sir, ‘yung ibinibigay po nilang requirement sa amin hindi kami makapag-comply dahil medyo mahirap, at the same time gagastos pa rin po kami (Sir, we could not comply with the requirements they were asking from us because they were difficult to provide, at the same time, we would also have to spend money for it),’’ the businesswoman told Lacson after her disappointing experience in trying to seek assistance from the DTI.

Senatorial aspirant and former Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol, for his part, recommended a Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) system, which was a special credit program he implemented for the benefit of farmers and fishermen when he spearheaded the agency.

Through this mechanism, Piñol said he was able to prevent cases of unused and misused appropriations at the DA by letting farmers and fishermen who need financial assistance access loans through easier application processes.

‘’Like what Senator Lacson said, there is money with the government. This happened to me when I was at the DA. When I assumed office, there was funding at the DA intended for loan disbursement, but the farmers could not access it because of so many documentary requirements,’’ he explained.

Piñol also lamented that some government-funded credit facilities end up with higher interest rates, especially when these are coursed through various types of cooperatives.

He said this is what the Lacson administration would try to reform.

The senatorial aspirant, likewise, mentioned that if he wins a seat at the Senate, he would propose legislation to establish a bank, which would focus on responding to the financial needs of agricultural workers, including those who belong to the MSME sector.

“‘Yung iyong problema, kayong mga maliliit na negosyante, kapag naitatag natin ‘yung farmers and fishermen’s bank, isasama kayo doon para madali ‘yung access ninyo {sa mga pautang ng gobyerno}. ,” Piñol said.