LGUs asked to defer payment deadlines for MSMEs: Palace

In a bid to address the challenges faced by MSMEs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched Tuesday the national trade fair (NTF) digital mall which offers continuous promotion of food and non-food products from different regions. (PNA photo by Oliver Marquez)

MANILA – Local government units (LGUs) have been urged to defer the payment of deadlines for business fees to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the crisis driven by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Malacañang said on Friday.

This was contained in the Resolution 89 issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“The IATF likewise appealed to local government units (LGUs) to provide regulatory relief assistance, such as but not limited to deferment of payment of deadlines for local government business fees, to micro, small, and medium business establishments,” Roque said.

Roque said the IATF-EID’s resolution covers MSMEs “which were not permitted to operate or adversely affected by the restrictions imposed under the different community quarantine classifications.”

In a bid to address the challenges faced by MSMEs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched Tuesday the national trade fair (NTF) digital mall which offers continuous promotion of food and non-food products from different regions.

The DTI’s Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion, in a press statement, said the NTF digital mall serves as an electric commerce platform inside the Union Bank GlobalLinker site that aims to help MSMEs future-proof their businesses as they pivot to online selling.

Around 223 MSMEs nationwide featured their products, including processed food and beverages, gifts and souvenirs, houseware and décor, fashion accessories, wearables, and health and fitness products.

Meantime, the IATF-EID directed the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) to “cease and desist in the expansion of permissible accessory activities in the golf clubs.”

The IATF-EID rejected the reopening of locker rooms for golfers, among others, pending the review and approval of health protocols that will be issued by appropriate government agencies.

“The NGAP is ordered to transmit its proposed protocols for golf to the DOH and DOLE for vetting,” the IATF-EID Resolution 89 read.

Golf is one of the sports activities allowed to resume in the country when the government eased the quarantine restrictions amid the Covid-19 crisis.