13th-month pay loans to be offered by DOLE to micro-companies
Business loans that will help small enterprises fund their employees’ 13th-month salaries will now be limited only to micro-enterprises, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In a briefing last Monday, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that the restriction is due to the lack of funds.
Bello added that the micro-companies with “a maximum of 10 workers” who are still struggling financially due to the pandemic are the only ones eligible for the program.
The initial program plan was to provide soft loans to micro and small enterprises through the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.). However, the approved P200 million (US$3.9 million) budget can only cater to micro-businesses.
The labor secretary further disclosed that they had initially requested a P60-billion (US$1.18 billion) budget for the wage subsidy program which would have covered 60% of employee salaries in small businesses.
Related news
- DOLE urges MSMEs to apply for 13th-month pay loan · 17 Nov
- IBPAP gears up for IT-BPM Roadmap 2028 · 16 Dec
- TUCP urged DOLE to probe the ‘no jab, no pay’ scheme · 20 Oct
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
Stay ahead of the outsourcing industry. Join thousands of business leaders who rely on Outsource Accelerator for the news, trends, and expert insights that matter. Subscribe to our free newsletter and never miss an update.
