City 402 MSMEs under BRAVE-ESPD

The city government provided financial assistance to some four hundred two micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the city’s Baguio Revitalization Actions for a Vibrant Economy–Economic Stimulus Package (BRAVE-ESP) to help their respective businesses recover from the heavy impact inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic through the years.

Lawyer Julienne Fortunato-Lobchoy, Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions (LEDIP) officer under the City Budget Office, reported during the fourth quarter meeting of the Baguio City MSME Development Council that the city released more than PhP21.9 million loans to the qualified MSMEs under this program.

She claimed there were some 419 approved loan applications from MSMEs under the program but only 402 applications were released while 17 were either cancelled or unclaimed.

The LEDIP officer stated that 355 loan applications were micro enterprises operating in the different parts of the city while 47 applicants were classified as small enterprises.

Further, Lobchoy pointed out that 337 applicants fully paid back their loans while 165 enterprises have outstanding balances from their acquired loans.

Of those with outstanding balances with the city, 17 updated their payments while 148 have overdue payments or are considered delinquent borrowers.

According to her, the city government collected some PhP16.3 million loan payments as of September this year while more than PhP5.5 million remains to be collected from the delinquent loan applicants.

Moreover, the city was also able to collect some PhP337,366 from penalty charges that were imposed on delinquent borrowers.

The city government submitted to the Small Business Corporation some seven loan applications, while eight borrowers are still being reviewed by the City Budget Office–LEDIPO while six applicants have applied for re-loan. – Dexter A. See