GMA programs generate 1.1 M jobs in 9 months
By Paolo Romero of The Philippine Star
Friday, July 6, 2007
The government has exceeded its target of creating jobs through its microfinance development program, which provided 1.1 million jobs from July 2006 to March 2007 which is 117.1 percent more than the target of 950,000 jobs for the period.

Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde, who is also Cabinet oversight official for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development, announced the job data during a meeting of MSME development stakeholders recently.

People’s Credit and Finance Corp. (PCFC) president Edgar Generoso said that 55.6 percent of the two million microfinance jobs targeted for the six-year period starting 2004 has already been achieved in less than three years.

“Microfinance has graduated from being just a footnote and it is now an industry,” he said.

Small Business Guarantee Fund Corp. president and chief operating officer Benel Lagua reported that the SME sector, through the government’s SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth program, has also generated over 122,000 jobs as of end-April 2007.

Generoso said there are plans to expand the reach of MSME programs through an intensified information drive through text messages, an Internet campaign and media exposure.

The PCFC will launch on July 9 the SMS microfinance texting facility as part of a public awareness campaign to promote entrepreneurship throughout the country.

Remonde bared the plan of Mrs. Arroyo to expand the existing Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council to include the microenterprise sector. He said she will issue an executive order for this purpose.

“The President’s MSME programs continue to post significant gains in the country as they spread nationwide the benefits of entrepreneurship that help swell the economy and improve people’s lives,” Remonde said.

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