For Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal, the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) decision to scrap its plan to require permits for online businesses that want to engage in advertisements or promotions averted what could have been a potential death blow to many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

DTI’s planned pre-clearance regulatory regime for advertising materials, as contained in a draft Department Administrative Order, drew very strong negative reactions from online business proprietors, who saw it as yet another layer of requirements and fees that would be detrimental to their bottom line.

BH Party-list said the proposal was not only ill-timed but also shows a disconnect from reality on the part of the government.

“At a time when Filipino MSMEs, online sellers and startups are already drowning in inflation, taxes, rising logistics costs, platform fees, weak consumer spending, and endless government compliance requirements, adding yet another permit and another fee for advertisements is unconscionable,” Nazal said.

Nazal noted that online advertising wasn't some luxury expense for small businesses, but rather their way of competing with giant corporations and more importantly, their means to survive in a highly competitive market.

“It is how startups grow. It is how ordinary people earn extra income in an economy where opportunities are already difficult enough,” Nazal said.

BH Party-list founder and spokesperson Bernadette Herrera emphasized the importance of MSMEs to the Philippine economy. She said this should merit greater support and protections from the government and not the opposite.

MSMEs make up the bulk of registered businesses in the country and employ millions of Filipinos, all while struggling to be profitable and even to survive.

“MSMEs faithfully pay taxes. MSMEs keep the economy alive. MSMEs employ millions of Filipinos. And yet instead of giving relief — no VAT relief, no meaningful reduction in excise taxes, no fuel cost protection, no serious reduction in red tape — the government keeps finding new ways to squeeze small businesses even harder,” Herrera said.

“This is completely disconnected from the realities of running an online business in the Philippines. Policies that will be detrimental to small businesses should never see the light of day again. If the objective is consumer protection, then go after scammers, counterfeiters, and fraudulent sellers directly,” she added.

Moving forward, Herrera said the DTI should endeavor to find ways to simplify things for MSMEs while providing them with the necessary support to improve efficiency and increase profitability.

“The Philippines should be encouraging entrepreneurship and digital innovation — not regulating it into paralysis,” Herrera said.