Business and Economy
DTI needs additional PHP2B for P3 Program
(Photo: ALBERT ALCAIN/PPD)” width=”640″ height=”419″ />
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has requested for additional PHP 2.0 billion for the Pondo para sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program. (Photo: ALBERT ALCAIN/PPD)MANILA—Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has requested for additional PHP 2.0 billion for the Pondo para sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program.
In a radio interview Wednesday, Lopez said the DTI has rolled out some PHP 118 million for the P3 Program in the first quarter of the year, benefitting three provinces.
To date, DTI has established P3 Prgoram in Occidental Mindoro, Tacloban, and Sarangani.
For this year, the government allotted PHP1.0 billion for the program.
Moreover, the DTI chief noted that President Rodrigo Duterte wants to allocate PHP1.
0 billion for every region under the P3 Program.
The P3 Program is the microfinancing program of the Duterte administration which aims to provide financial access to micro entrepreneurs in the country’s poorest areas.
The program targets to boost entrepreneurship in these areas without tapping loan sharks or those parties that lend money with extremely high interest rates.
According to Lopez, the average monthly interest for the micro lending under the P3 is at 2.0 percent, which is much lower than the 20 percent interest rate in ‘5-6’ money lending scheme at 20 percent in a span of two to three months.
