Bill seeks to allocate 10% of mall space to small firms

A BILL seeking to set aside 10% of mall space for small businesses at no charge has been filed at the House of Representatives.
House Bill 8129, authored by Misamis Oriental Peter M. Unabia, seeks to amend Republic Act 9501, “Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.”
The measure will require “malls and supermarkets to allot at least 10% of their selling area, free of charge, to qualified MSMEs, which will be identified by the Department of Trade and Industry.”
Mr. Unabia said the amendment aims to provide MSMEs more outlets to sell their products.
“It is a simple but intuitive solution to… the problem since both supermarkets and shopping malls are significant centers of commerce,” Mr. Unabia said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Citing a 2016 Philippine Statistics Authority report, Mr. Unabia said 99.57% of about 900,000 companies in the Philippines are MSMEs.
These enterprises also employ 63.3% of the work force.
Nevertheless, MSMEs face disadvantages such as lack of access to markets.
Mr. Unabia said allowing qualified MSMEs to locate in malls and supermarkets will “give them a fighting chance at developing and eventually up-scaling operations.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan