The consolidated Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) House Bill 6815, also known as the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines (ARISE Philippines Act), seeks to ensure business continuity and aid the recovery of critically-impacted businesses brought about by the afflicting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surveys conducted on exporters by the DTI-Exporters’ Marketing Bureau and Philippine Exporters’ Confederation Inc. (Philexport) have manifested results that while numerous micro, small, and medium exporters are struggling from monetary losses, respondents also recommend that the Government should provide financial assistance through Stimulus Packages.
PESA Bill interventions allow critically-impacted formal and informal MSME exporters, including start-ups, freelancers, and the self-employed, to incur wage subsidies for two months with labor retention clause, interest free-loans, credit mediation, e-wallets, subsidies for education, grants for technical assistance, and structural reforms for economic resilience.
The P1.3-trillion economic stimulus package was introduced by Hon. Stella Luz A. Quimbo, and co-authored by 256 legislators in the Congress. With the support of the Export Development Council, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Philexport, the Bill was successfully passed in its final reading at the House of Representatives. –KJCS