DTI backs passage of Go Negosyo bill

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) backs the passage of the Go Negosyo bill noting the bill would help promote entrepreneurship in the country.

With the passage of the GoNegosyo Act of 2013 on third and final reading in the Senate, the DTI expects to further boost its support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to grow and flourish, and intensify the promotion of entrepreneurship in the country.

“As stated in the Act, the Department accepts the key responsibility and challenge to establish the Go Negosyo Centers and the Philippine Business Registry Databank (PBRD) in all cities and municipalities in the country,” DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said in a statement.

The DTI is optimistic of managing the two programs given the corresponding amount of government resources.

“In fact, we already started to prepare the formation of model business resource centers (BRC) that will typify the envisioned functions of the Go Negosyo Centers. These model BRCs will help us gather experiences and prepare a strategic plan to fully implement this program,” he said.

The trade official added that as soon as the sites for the BRCs are selected, these would be linked to the Philippine Business Registry System (PBRS) to make it easier and faster for entrepreneurs to start and register their businesses at the local level.

The PBRS is a government project that integrates the services of all agencies involved in business registration, such as the DTI, Securities and Exchange Commission, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and other permit and license-issuing agencies to facilitate registration.

The DTI commends Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV for pushing the passage of Senate Bill 2046 as it would support the government’s inclusive growth agenda.

Senate Bill 2046 or Go Negosyo Act of 2013 is otherwise known as “An Act Promoting Job Generation and Inclusive Growth by Providing Additional Incentives to MSMEs.”

The country’s MSMEs account for more than 99 percent of all establishments that provide 66 percent to total employment in the private sector, and contribute 37.5 percent to the value added in the manufacturing sector.

Domingo noted that while there were improvements in the growth of the SME sector in the last three years, a lot of things still need to be done to make the contribution of the sector significant to national economy.

“We are positive that the enactment of the Go Negosyo Act will help attract more Filipinos to engage in business and make it much easier to do business in the country, especially for MSMEs,” he said.