THE SENATE has approved a bill seeking to establish common service facilities or production centers for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide.
The proposed measure will institutionalize the Trade and Industry department’s shared service facilities (SSF) program that was launched in 2013 and has since set up various communal centers for equipment and training initiatives.
On Monday, 22 senators voted ‘yes’ to Senate Bill No. 2021, while none negated nor abstained.
According to the measure, SSFs will give MSMEs “access to better technology and more sophisticated equipment to accelerate their bid for competitiveness,” and help them enter the global supply chain.
The DTI, alongside relevant government agencies, local government units, private institutions, and stakeholders, will establish SSF-Fabrication Laboratories in at least one strategic location per province to assist MSMEs.
The laboratories will be attached to state or local universities and colleges, private schools, colleges and universities, and government academic training institutions in the province.
A similar measure was filed at the House of Representatives last week.
Funding for the program will come from the national budget under the DTI. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz