Lawmakers in favor of increasing 2024 budget of DTI; DTI thanks Lower House for support to increase bid
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 If there ever was a lesson to be learned from the pandemic that needs to be practiced, it's probably the need to take care of micro, small and medium enterprises.
00:08 Because aside from being the backbone of the economy, the said sector also makes up the majority of employers of many Filipinos.
00:16 The DTI is well aware of this and is taking the necessary steps to ensure the achievement of such goal by asking for a bigger slice of the pie.
00:24 Karen Villanda tells us more.
00:29 The House Committee on Appropriations is in favor of increasing the Department of Trade and Industries' budget next year.
00:35 In a hearing, the DTI proposed a budget of P5.3 billion.
00:40 The agency said it was the amount in the national expenditure program that was approved by the Department of Budget and Management, but their actual proposed budget was P12.6 billion.
00:52 The amount for industry development alone that aims to help particularly the micro, small, medium-sized enterprises was cut to P400 billion from P529 billion.
01:03 The impact is that we might have to sacrifice some of the initiatives we've lined up in favor of just doing what we have been doing over the years.
01:16 Which in a way contributes substantially also to performance of our role.
01:22 But I think our country, in order to progress, needs more effort in other important areas like developing new industries, creative industries,
01:33 or working on the upscaling of our MSMEs, helping micro to become small, small to become medium, and medium to become large.
01:44 Just a few. I don't know whether we are aware. Large companies in the Philippines, less than 5,000.
01:51 According to the committee, it is the duty of the DTI to ensure the progress of our industries to create more jobs.
01:58 That's why Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is disappointed the DBM cut its budget in the creative industry.
02:06 The committee wants to increase the DTI's budget to P3 billion.
02:10 We have only, Mr. Chairman and Secretary, of the 600 proposed, 50 million.
02:17 How can we be able to address the 1.7 trillion that this industry, creative industry, has given to our economy?
02:26 With so many people, thousands are involved here, millions are involved.
02:31 I move that we not only approve the net budget given to the Congress of the Republic of the Philippines,
02:42 but to increase the budget for the OSEC of at least P3 billion for your priority projects. Thank you.
02:53 The DTI thanked the committee and assures it will exert greater effort to drum up investments and encourage small businesses to create more jobs.
03:02 Also, the investment pledges received by the DTI during the foreign trips were also discussed.
03:08 All in all, we were able to get what we call investment pledges or investment leads.
03:15 From 130, or related to 130 projects, with a total tag price or value of US$71.4 billion.
03:28 We have developed six categories for these projects.
03:37 The lowest category is confirmed investment not covered by MOUs or LOIs and still at the planning stage.
03:47 Amidst the issues concerning the statement of the DTI Secretary such as the issue on wage earners and the usage of corn and sweet potato as an alternative for rice,
03:57 the committee reminded the official to be more careful in making such statements.
04:02 Hence, Secretary Pascual explained that he has been misquoted by the media.
04:07 The context of what the DTI is doing, there was a reporter who asked me after I made my conversation with the host of the program,
04:17 what we will do with the high price of rice, I told him that in UP, when I was the president of the University of the Philippines, we discussed the issue of sufficiency of rice supply.
04:32 One of the studies that we made, an alternative that we proposed, in fact we did propose it, was a mix of rice and corn.
04:42 I am just telling you the study. I did not propose any adjustment or change.
04:49 Karen Valleando for The Nation.