Loans For 13th-Month Pay Up

The Small Business Corp. (SBCorp) said some 8,000 micro and small enterprises are eligible to tap its interest-free 13th Month Pay Loan Facility.

Photo Insert: The period of the 13th-month pay loan application is until December 7.

SBCorp, the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) officially launched Friday the loan facility that aims to help small-scale businesses pay their employees’ 13th-month pay. Eligible small-scale enterprises are those with a headcount of 40 and below and have been listed with DOLE’s flexible work arrangement between January 4 to October 5 this year. SBCorp allotted PHP500 million for this program.

To date, SBCorp has received only 77 applications from 8,000 eligible firms identified by the DOLE since it opened the loan application last November 2. SBCorp has approved 25 enterprises that applied for this program.

SBCorp spokesperson Robert Bastillo said the period of loan application is until December 7.

“We encourage interested companies to apply now… so we can complete the processing before Christmas,” he added. Eligible micro and small enterprises can apply online by creating an account on SBCorp borrower registration system.

Documents needed in the online application include government-issued identification (ID), 2021 barangay or mayor’s permit, bank account or electronic money account, certificate of business name registration from DTI, and Secretary’s certificate for partnership and corporation.

Bastillo added the loan program has no collateral requirement, and if the borrower will have a hard time paying for the loan, SBCorp is open to providing loan relief such as restructuring of loan and giving grace period.

“Those who borrow from us, don’t hide. We are willing to help you to make payment easier,” he said in Filipino.

SBCorp president and chief executive officer Ma. Luna Cacanando said the financial institution expects that the rate of loan default may be higher during a pandemic.

She said most default is within a 12 to 15-percent rate, but due to the economic conditions amid the pandemic, debt repayment failure may reach up to 30 percent.

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