[Acknowledgements]
Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. It is a pleasure to be in the company of our Negosyo Center Business Counsellors ngayong umaga kahit sa virtual gathering lamang. Hayaan niyo dahil lumuwag luwag na ang kundisyon ng pandemic na ito. I am very confident that very soon makakabisita na tayo sa iba’t ibang region ulit para maipalakas pa lalo ang ating presensya at tulong sa mga micro SMEs. Of course, I’d like to greet all the Business Counsellors we have in the different parts of the country.
As you know, kayo pong mga Business Counsellors ang extension o arm ng Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), lalo na sa grassroots level. Kayo ang mga representatives sa bawat Negosyo Center, sa bawat municipality. Kayo ang mga frontliners ng DTI, kayo ang nakakaabot ng mahahalagang business information, advocacy para sa mga MSMEs.
Sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte, ang MSMEs po ay isang sektor na kanyang sinusuportahan at binibigyang importansya dahil po ito ay bumubuo sa 99.4% ng ating number of enterprises sa ating bansa, sa katunayan ay almost 100% na po.
Kayo po na mga Business Counsellors, bilang mentor at coach ng ating mga entrepreneurs ay malaki ang naitutulong ninyo sa pag-promote ng negosyo, entrepreneurship, at ng Ease of Doing Business by facilitating the requirements of our MSMEs.
As of today, mayroon na po tayong 1,193 Business Counsellors who are manning our Negosyo Centers. We also have about 1,300 Negosyo Centers, ibig sabihin po nito ay mayroon pa tayong mga Negosyo centers na wala pang Business Counsellors o kung hindi man ay nagkakaroon po tayo ng sharing of Business Counsellors. Through our Business Counsellors, we have assisted more than 420,000 MSMEs and almost 900,000 clients. With the help of the Negosyo Center, 53,109 barangay micro business enterprises have been registered, this creates a solid economic impact at the community level. Again, congratulations po sa ating mga Business Counsellors at maraming salamat. Nais ko rin pong batiin at i-congratulate ang ating mga business centers na patuloy na tumutulong sa ating mga maliliit na negosyo o MSMEs.
The theme of this general assembly is–ACCelerate 2022, which stands for Adapt, Commit, and Collaborate.
Accelerate implies that even if there is a pandemic which limits our physical interaction, our services never stop. In fact, it continues at maximum speed without compromising quality.
Accelerate is how I would describe our economy’s strong rebound. Nabalitaan po ninyo last week that we had a 5.6% full year GDP growth at ang fourth quarter GDP growth naman po natin ay umabot sa 7.7%. Additionally, we had a 7.1% growth during the third quarter of 2021 which was the fastest in Southeast Asian region. Meanwhile, I’ll have to check itong 7.7% noong fourth quarter na mas mataas pa kung tayo rin ang fastest sa Southeast Asian region during that period.
Building back better has been our objective since the beginning of the pandemic and we believe that we can sustain this excellent growth turnaround. Indeed, some of our country’s economic indicators last year 2021 had begun to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
Ang atin pong exports ay humigit na sa 2019 pre-pandemic level by 5.5%. Ang foreign direct investment naman po ay humigit na ng 23% kumpara noong 2019. Ito po ay patunay lamang na malakas ang pag-rebound ng ating exports at investments sa kabila ng pandemya. These developments will translate to additional jobs and enhanced economic activity within the country. Hopefully ay magtuluy-tuloy po ito ngayong taon as we continue to reopen our economy and I am further hoping that we can surpass the threat of the Omicron variant upang sa ganoon po ay maging maayos ang pagnenegosyo at trabaho ng ating mga kababayan.
Adapt implies that with our ever-changing situation, we should be willing to adapt to rapid changes. Ito po ang lagi nating pinaguusapan sa mga lectures na pag-pivot ng ating mga MSMEs, that they must adapt to the growing e-commerce practices for their businesses to thrive and survive so that they may overcome the limitations of the physical distancing.
Since mid-March 2020 when lockdowns were first imposed in the country, we have recorded more than 120,000 business name registrations for online businesses–this was a record high for the country. Marami po sa ating mga kababayan ang nag-online and e-commerce business.
According to the e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report, ito po iyong report na nilabas ng Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company which indicated that Philippines had the fastest growth rate of 93% in 2021 as compared to 2020. The forecast growth of our internet transaction is from USD9-B to USD17-B this 2021, reaching USD40-B by 2025. Our country also yielded 12 million new e-commerce users during the pandemic—the highest proportion of new users in the region, this means that all of you serve as an important factor in reaching these numbers because many MSMEs were able to adapt to the “New Normal”, especially when it comes to e-commerce.
Small businesses have also adopted new business models and acquired digital tools and skills, we have already consolidated online tools to help MSMEs embrace the digital economy, allowing them to find digital solutions which include e-payment, digital marketing, logistics, work from home collaboration, productivity, and webinars offered by different development partners.
Commit describes how we serve the public. Through the pandemic, calamities, and other uncertainties, our commitment stands. We commit to see through the repair of 40 Negosyo Centers damaged by typhoon Odette, particularly in Regions 6, 7, 8, and CARAGA. We also commit to ensure business continuity at any Alert Level. Ang active participation po ng DTI sa IATF ay nakatuon sa paninigurado na hangga’t maaari ay bukas ang mga businesses na nasa 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close contact settings), we have pushed for a measure that allows them to continue operating regardless of the limited capacity because we still need to follow standard health protocols. Dahil po dito ay bukas pa rin ang mga businesses na nasa 3C kahit tayo po ay mag Alert Level 4. Mahalaga po na bigyan natin ng importansya ang continuity ng mga businesses. As of now, Metro Manila is under Alert Level 2 including many areas in the country–50% indoor and 70% outdoor. May mga plus pa tayo 10% Safety Seal, 20% kung iyong lugar ay over 70% na ang vaccinated. Marami na ang nagbubukas sa ating mga maliliit na negosyo.
We aim for targeted health protocols rather than a blanket approach. In fact, we have been telling the IATF, and you can see that from the changes of protocol we are now instituting. We are reducing wide area lockdown, moving into granular lockdown. With the Omicron, karamihan ay mild lamang so we push for more home isolation which means that people have their own responsibilities within the community, it is self-regulating. In fact, we saw that it is already happening, kahit Alert Level 3 na ay parang Alert Level 4, ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine), or Alert Level 5 pa in some areas dahil hindi na lumabas ang mga tao. Aside from that, sila mismo ang nagkasakit, naka-quarantine sila because ang kasama sa bahay ay nagka-positive.
Mag-iiba na ang ating health protocol, just last Friday we announced that we will remove the quarantine requirement and that is based on science. Health experts ang nag-recommend noon dahil po nakikita nila sa ibang bansa may mga Omicron variants rin kahit dito po sa atin, it just depends on self-monitoring. Ang hindi po natin maaaring tanggalin ay iyong pagma-mask, paghuhugas ng kamay, pag-iwas, and of course ang vaccination. Kung tayo po ay may bakuna, hindi po lalala ang kondisyon ng pasyente, hindi magiging severe, at mas makakasurvive po tayo. If that is the case, we do not have to impose lockdowns just based on colds and flu. Parang ina-allow na natin ngayon na huwag na tayong mag-lockdown kung magkaroon ng sipon o magpostive, huwag lamang dumami ang mga severe cases. But of course, dapat ay tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang ating pag-iingat, iyong mask, hugas, iwas ay dapat palagi pa rin po natin itong gawin upang mabawasan pa ang ating mga cases, lalo na iyong severe. In the government, we also adjust, parang iyong theme na adapt.
Collaborate describes how we accomplish greater things through collaboration. To achieve economic recovery, we have adopted a whole-of-nation approach in the IATF, it is composed of a team of almost all agencies involved in this fight against the pandemic. Our interventions to upscale the competencies of MSMEs especially in financial literacy is a fitting demonstration of this. You are all familiar with our financial education webinars for MSMEs and the Kapatid Mentor ME Program which are good examples of what public-private partnerships can accomplish to empower MSMEs.
Just last Saturday, tayo po ay umattend ng induction kasama ang isang organisasyon na binubuo ng mga CPAs. Hinikayat ko sila to partner with DTI para mapalakas pa natin ang ating programa on financial management, accounting for non-accountants, and other similar programs that are related to finance. We are also moving toward fintech, that is definitely our way forward. We are part of the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (FISC) and just last Friday, we launched the Financial Inclusion Strategy Roadmap. The DTI has an active participation in all of these initiatives.
Again, adapt, commit, and collaborate are the keys for us to ACCelerate in 2022. Muli ay maraming salamat sa ating Regional Operations Group headed by Usec. Bles, mga Assistant Secretaries, mga Directors, at kasama na po ang mga Regional and Provincial at Assistant Regional Directors. Salamat sa ating mga Negosyo Center Coordinators at mga regional focal persons, kay AD Emma Asusano at sa lahat ng bumubuo ng NC-PMU Team.
Sa lahat ng ating Negosyo Center Business Counsellors, keep up the good work at tuluy-tuloy ang ating serbisyo para sa pag-ahon at pagpapalakas ng micro SMEs. Huwag kayong magpapa-pirate sa private sector. Mas maganda iyong serbisyo na nakakatulong tayo sa ating mga kababayan lalo na ang mga micro SMEs na nangangailangan ng ating tulong. Ito ang ating passion at makakaasa po kayo sa patuloy na suporta mula sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte, lalo na pagdating sa inclusive business growth at MSME development.
Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat, more power to all of you, God bless you, stay safe, and have a successful conference. ♦
Date of Release: 31 January 2022