Angara: Gov’t aid available for local business, creative industry

Senator Sonny Angara and his wife, Tootsy, during their Cebu visit on Friday, March 3. | Niña Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Senator Sonny Angara said there were existing laws that were crafted to especially help micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those who were in the creative industry.

But they also need the help of industry players to tell government that they existed and that they needed assistance so that the right kind of aid could be extended to them.

“We have a law. The creative industries law. It’s newly passed so, there’s all sorts of assistance that should be provided by government. Financial, incentives and capability building,” said Angara, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the 19th Congress.

“Under the creative law, the creative industries are part of the possible recipients. But yon nga (that’s just it), sometimes there is an information disconnect. Hindi alam ng gobyerno na may magagaling pala dito (The government does not know that there are talented people here),” he added.

He said there would be times that, “we need people to be active and tell the government that we are here and we need help.”

CDND photo

Angara, who was in Cebu on Friday, March 3, to meet with local businesses and those, who are in the creative industry, said that the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or the CREATE law would provide “all sorts of assistance” like financial, incentives, and capability building.

The government also has various programs to especially help the  small businesses become part of the global supply chain.

Angara said that Department of Trade and Industry, for example,  had a design center that could help local producers to make their products “standout in the market” by coming up with a catchy packing and new logo.

“If you go to the provinces, there are a lot of nice products without a good packaging,” he said.

“How can you compete if you are, inherently not competitive? That is why the government has to come in,” Angara added.

The DTI, Angara said, also had a program called Shared Services Facility (SSF).  But this program “has been receiving a small budget”.  He thinks that “it’s [now] time to scale it up.”

According to DTI’s official site, SSF aims to improve micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)’ competitiveness by providing machinery, equipment, skills and knowledge under a shared system. | Niña Mae Oliverio – CDN Digital Intern

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