Due to numerous inquiries made with the provincial offices and Negosyo Centers of the Department of Trade and Industry in Region 3, the DTI-3 is advising the public that the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso or P3 program of DTI is yet to be implemented in Central Luzon.

DTI-3 Regional Director Judith P. Angeles advised against dealing with persons who are unauthorized to transact on the lending program of DTI, especially since the program has been piloted only in Oriental Mindoro, Leyte and Sarangani. She also clarified that the primary implementer of the program is still the Small Business Corporation, a government corporation under the DTI. “The regional and provincial offices of DTI will only help in supporting the program through information dissemination, training and identification of possible conduits,” she added. Director Angeles also noted that DTI-3 is still in the process of evaluating conduits such as micro-lending institutions or cooperatives in Central Luzon which DTI will be engaging to implement the P3 lending program.

For Region 3, only the province of Aurora has so far been identified as a pilot area for the P3 program. The DTI also reminded the public that the P3 lending program intends to help provide micro entrepreneurs with a more viable and less costly option than high interest non-collateralized loans.
The program is intended for business and not for personal purposes, providing small businesses with low interest (2.5%) loans ranging from Php 5,000 to 100,000 and targeting market vendors, small agri-based businesses, cooperative members and business start-ups. The application process for the P3 program will be facilitated by micro-lending institutions which will serve as conduits for the program. The requirements include the business registration documents and proof that the business Is operational.

The public is also advised against “fixers’ asking for fees to facilitate loans under the P3 program, since the loans will only be processed through authorized lending conduits. As of now, there are nationally accredited conduits like Radiowealth Finance Company, Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD Inc.), and NATCCO, among others, have been identified by the agency to process P3 loans.