Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has urged Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque to create a small loan program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) program with no interest rate.
The Mindanaoan lawmaker raised this during the confirmation hearing of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary, noting that this would help Filipinos in boosting their livelihoods instead of giving them financial assistance or “ayuda.”
Dela Rosa cited as example the hardship of his mother when she was still working as a fish vendor. The senator shared that market vendors like his mother were borrowing money from moneylenders who charged them high interest rates or commonly known as “5-6.”
“Siguro kung ako ang maging secretary ng DTI, tutukan ko ‘yon. Maghanap ako ng programa na makatulong yung gano’ng paninda araw-araw kasi you can just imagine 5-6, uutang ka ng P5, at the end of the day bayaran mo ng P6,” Dela Rosa said.
“Baka kayo, gagawa ka ng programa na ‘yan, pondohan natin dito sa Kongreso na makabigay ka kahit 5-5, walang interes, tapos mag-deploy ka ng mga nakamotor na mga tauhan mo, iikot doon sa mga palengke, magpapautang…para sa maliliit na negosyante, napakalaking bagay ‘yan kung walang interes,” he suggested.
For Dela Rosa, this kind of government program would lessen the culture of mendicancy among Filipinos.
“This is no longer teaching them how to fish, this is helping them in their fishing venture. ‘Yan ang maganda sanang programa kung matutukan mo. And I will be very happy,” the Mindanaoan senator said.
“I am urging you to do that kung mabigyan mo ng pansin. Maliliit lang ‘yan pero masaya ‘yang mga tao na ‘yan ‘pag matulungan natin,” he added.
Dela Rosa has been supporting not only security and public order-related bills, but also measures that are pushing to improve the welfare of Filipinos.
Among the measures that Dela Rosa is backing are the bill seeking to increase the daily minimum wage by P100 and the bill providing direct financial assistance to Filipino farmers. He likewise voted for the passage of the newly-enacted law protecting the welfare of caregivers as well as the law institutionalizing the teaching supplies allowance for public school teachers.
