City dad urges LGUs of cities of Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu to subsidize testing for SMEs

Cleaners climb up the walls of a building in Cebu Business Park. | CDN Digital File Photos

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon urged the city government of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu to study subsidizing the testing of workers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This after all companies have been required by the Balik Buhay Project of the three cities to test their employees for COVID-19 before allowing them to go back to work when the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will be lifted.

Only 50 percent of the workforce will be allowed to work in the workplaces, and they must be tested for the virus first. The company has to pay for the tests.

Dizon said this may not be a concern for bigger companies but majority of the businesses in the city are small and growing.

“The SMEs are greatly affected by the pandemic. They comprise almost 90 percent of businesses in the country and employ as much as 30 percent of total private sector employees. It is crucial for the government to support our SMEs so they would be able to bounce back,” said Dizon.

Dizon and the City Council has released a resolution on Wednesday evening, April 29, 2020, urging the three cities to consider subsidizing the testing for these small businesses.

The councilor said this would help the businesses get back on their feet after the crisis in the last two months.

He hopes the mayors would consider this subsidy so the businesses can operate again. /bmjo