The Department of Trade and Industry has once again rolled out its assistance program for micro and small enterprises affected by the pandemic making available up to P500,000 in loans to qualified businesses.

The program, dubbed the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES), launched its second edition in the province after it was briefly stopped starting June 19, said DTI CARES coordinator Veronee Tocmo on Tuesday.

“Malipayon mi na mo inform mi sa tanan na ang atong application sa CARES program nibalik na pud og panawat,” Tocmo said.

CARES was initially unveiled by DTI in May providing loan assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) across the country which have been battered by business restrictions caused by the still uncontained pandemic.

Allowable amount of loans vary depending on the size of the business.

MSMEs with total asset size of at least P3 million may be able to loan P10,000 to 20,000 while those with asset size of P15 million may borrow up to P500,000.

Loans payable in 18 months have service fee of six percent while those payable in 30 months have service fee of eight percent.

According to Tocmo, all applications are to be done online as the previously available manual mode has been scrapped.

Requirements include valid ID, business permit, and bank statement.

“Ang mo apply online dapat mag andam og tulo ka picture sa negosyo, picture sa inyong business location, sa inyong inventories and production area,” she said.

Meanwhile, DTI also offers its HEROES (Helping the Economy Recover thru OFW Enterprise Start-ups) program to displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This allows qualified OFWs to take out a loan of P10,000 to P100,000 without interest and collateral.

The same service fees are to be applied.

“Ang ilang pag-apply nila ani, mo agi sila og online training with PPTC or Philippine Trade Training Center,” she said. (A. Doydora)