City, SBC sign P100 M aid release

The City of Baguio and Small Business Corporation (SBC) inked an agreement giving greenlight for the release of a P100-Million loan assistance package for struggling micro and small enterprises.

The stimulus package, cued by Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong, was designed by city managers to mitigate the crippling impact of quarantine measures imposed by Malacañang upon local businesses.

The national government continues to issue quarantine measures of varying degrees, hoping to break the web of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections. Undaunted, Magalong assured, the city will give local traders a fighting chance until the worldwide medical crisis calms into a “new normal”; else, a vaccine ending the pandemic is finally available for mass administration.

Dubbed “Baguio Revitalization Actions for a Vibrant Economy – Economic Stimulus Package” (BRAVE-ESP), the program offers a minimum loan of P10,000 to a maximum of P50,000 for micro enterprises. Owners of small businesses can borrow up to P100,000.

Loans maturing in less than 12-months are charged 6-percent service fee; loans payable beyond a year are charged 8-percent service fee. SBC, a government-owned and controlled corporation administratively attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), was tapped to process the loan applications.

During the regular city management committee meeting at City Hall, the mayor expressed his gratitude for SBC’s acceptance of the task. He said with SBC, the city can be assured the program will be sustainable, the loans not ending up as dole-outs.

For her part, SBC president Ma. Luna E. Cacanando assured, SBC will do its best to protect the money of the city. She said SBC will try to process all qualified allocations by September.

Dexter A. See/PIO Baguio

Amianan Balita Ngayon