BAGUIO CITY – Small and micro business owners here can now get a boost from the city government with the PHP100 million stimulus package up for release starting Wednesday.
City treasurer Alex Cabarrubias said on Tuesday said the small and micro business owners can start applying for a loan from the city’s PHP100-million economic stimulus which the City Council on Monday approved via the passage of an ordinance.
Cabarrubias said the Baguio Revitalization Actions for a Vibrant Economy-Economic Stimulus Package (BRAVE-ESP) offers micro-businesses as much as PHP10,000 to PHP100,000-loan that is payable within 24 months and on a first-come-first-served basis.
Cabarrubias said the funds were sourced from unused money for city projects.
He said the city could source out PHP150 million from projects that are not feasible for implementation any longer.
“Actually PHP150 million was sourced out but only PHP100 million was approved to be used to revitalize Baguio’s economy,” he told reporters.
He said it is free of interest but is charged 6 percent for processing fees.
Cabarrubias said the loan is released using the Department of Trade and Industry subsidiary Small Business Corporation (SBC), which will process the papers.
He admitted that the city cannot undertake such a task so they partnered with the SBC.
He said SBC is handling a similar stimulus package for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) funded by the national government through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The PHP100-million economic stimulus package was ironed-out by local officials for local enterprises crippled by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic that forced their closure for more than two months.