MANILA-Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada seeks to create BOSS Centers or business one-stop shop centers which shall cater to the needs of the small and medium enterprises from registration up to their operations.
Under the Senate Bill 1593, also the Business One-Stop Shop Center Act of 2013, the BOSS Centers will be established in all regional and provincial centers throughout the country and will be under the supervision of Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMED) Council.
Sen. Estrada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, notes that SMEs are drivers of employment generation.
2011 data from the Department of Trade and Industry show that 61% of the total jobs generated by all types of business establishments for that year were contributed by the micro, small and medium scale enterprises. A total of 3,872,406 jobs were generated in 2011 by the MSMEs.
“Recognizing the potency of the small and medium enterprises on providing employment and livelihood to the people, it is only reasonable to further support this sector and lay out simpler, trouble-free procedures for setting up businesses, especially for prospective ‘bosses’ of their own companies,” Jinggoy states.
The lawmaker also points out the recent spike in the number of unemployed as indicated by an independent survey by the Social Weather Stations. SWS said that adult joblessness rate increased during the second quarter of 2013 to 26.1% (estimated 11.2 million Filipinos) compared to 25.4% recorded for the previous quarter.
Sen. Estrada, co-author of Republic Act 9501 or the Act to Promote Entrepreneurship by Strengthening Development and Assistance Programs to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises during the 14th Congress, specifically pushes for a policy for the establishment of “institutional framework to make economic environment conducive to business by raising government effectiveness in the delivery of services to small and medium enterprises” and “provide the necessary and strategic information and research assistance to expedite the process of business formation and encourage the growth of entrepreneurship.”
RA 9501 defines microenterprise as business activities engaged in industry, agribusiness or services with total assets of not more than Php 3,000,000. Small enterprises are those with total assets between Php 3,000,001 and Php 15,000,000; while medium enterprises are those with total assets of at least Php 15,000,001 but not more than Php 100,000,000.
BOSS Centers would accept and act on all registration application of SMEs and facilitate the processing of all documentary requirements for the establishment of business enterprise. They shall also provide necessary information and other services related to training, financing, marketing, referrals to SMEs and prospective entrepreneurs.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Social Security System (SSS), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the local government units shall detail representatives and officers at each BOSS Center.
The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, headed by Sen. Paulo Benigno Aquino IV, is set to conduct a public hearing on the proposal along with other enterprise development bills on Tuesday, October 22.
