PH government to roll out ‘Small Business Relief Program’ for middle income earners

In an attempt to support the middle class, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approves the Small Business Relief Program to aid 1.6 million small enterprises and the 3.4 million employees belonging to that sector that were affected by the imposed enhanced community quarantine in Luzon due to the coronavirus disease. 

Under the Small Business Relief Program, qualified workers will be granted a cash assistance ranging from Php5,000 to Php8,000 which shall be computed using the minimum wage per region as the basis. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the aid will be given in two installments on May.

To identify the eligible beneficiaries, details regarding the company size and income level of workers shall be obtained from the Social Security System and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, according to Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua.

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Chua added that workers under companies who are compliant with BIR requirements, 2.6 million of which are listed in the BIR Alphalist will be given priority in the distribution of the financial assistance which is different from the one from DOLE. Nonetheless, the other 0.8 million whose employers do not comply with government regulations will still be given the cash aid as second priority.

According to a study in 2018 by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, 40% of Filipinos are middle income earners whose monthly family income range between Php19,040 and Php114,240 based on 2017 figures. 

Earlier, the low-income households were given cash aid through the Social Amelioration Program by the government thru the DSWD. Distribution is being done currently per region.

Source: GMA News