Partido Reporma standard bearer Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III are looking to provide more financial and technical assistance to small business owners, farmers and fishermen if victorious in the coming May 9 elections.

In particular, the two lawmakers proposed that the government institute a “paluwagan” (rotating savings and credit association) system for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and agricultural workers, for them not to be burdened with loans with interest payments, especially since most of the world is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

This came after Lacson and Sotto received complaints and suggestions directly from the MSME sector over the weekend as they toured Northern Luzon and held several dialogues with various groups in Baguio City, Pangasinan, and Nueva Ecija.

“Mas magandang meron tayong mga credit institution at saka magkakasama sila na partikular na sektor, mas maganda ‘yon kasi sila-sila magtutulungan. Kasi ‘di ba namulatan natin, ‘yung paluwagan, ‘yung isang maliit na community, wala pang babayarang interes, ‘di ba (It would be best for us to have credit institutions that are together with a particular sector, it would be great because they would then help each other. Haven’t we all grown up to a ‘paluwagan,’ to a small community (financial group)… They won’t even have to pay interest on it, right?),” Lacson said in a statement Monday, Feb. 21.

The presidential bet stressed the importance of the “paluwagan” system as an informal way of saving and lending that is easy to join and often has interest-free loans, but also warned its members of the need for the government to regulate the system to protect them from scams and financial losses.

Lacson also called on the government to help banks make lending easier to businessmen and entrepreneurs to strengthen the economy as it gets back on its feet following the pandemic.

This can happen, he said, if the government ends its overregulation of the financial sector that is actually keeping MSMEs from getting the financial lifelines they need from legal institutions.

“Kasi ang nangyayari sa atin, nag-i-intervene ang gobyerno, overregulation ang ginagawa sa halip na tumulong. Tulad ng mga magsasaka, ang reaction kaagad ng gobyerno pagka medyo humina ‘yung supply ng gulay o ‘yung ani, mag-i-import. E ‘di lalo mong pinatay ‘yung magsasaka (What’s happening is the government intervenes and overregulation is happening, instead of helping (Filipinos). Like with farmers, the reaction of the government once there’s a shortage of crops or harvests is to import. You’re just killing farmers even more (with that),” he added.

Under Lacson’s platform, with the input of their senatorial candidates like former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol, the government would have a clearer direction in advancing the MSME and agricultural sectors alike.

The Lacson-Sotto ticket has already put forward a plan to buy 50 percent of the agricultural products of local farmers and fishermen, to put up model food outlets in Metro Manila, especially in Quezon City, and to strengthen the capacity of MSMEs, as proposed by Piñol.

These plans would help consumers buy fresh vegetables, fish, and meat straight from local producers and undercut the excessive importation and smuggling of food commodities that are the root of corruption, they added.PNA