NEWLY appointed Acting Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque received her first marching order from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.: Uplift the condition and competitiveness of the country's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through digitalization and use of technology.

Marcos appointed Aldeguer-Roque as acting secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), following Alfredo Pascual's decision to return to the private sector.

"The marching order is really to be able to uplift the income and to be able to uplift the MSMEs and also to make use of digitalization as a way to be able to live and to level up the MSMEs," Aldeguer-Roque said during a Saturday news forum in Quezon City.

"So, because remember, if we have increased the sales and income of MSMEs even by 10 percent, it will greatly contribute to the country's economy — and this is an instantaneous increase," she added.

Aldeguer-Roque, who was the undersecretary for MSME prior to her new appointment, stressed the need to use the digital platform to make MSMEs competitive, considering the Philippines' huge population of 115.6 million, which would be a big market for MSME products.

MSMEs must take advantage of this, she said, adding that the country's huge population is actually attracting foreign investors to put their money in the Philippines.

"This is a very important sector of the businesses in our country because this comprises 99.5 percent of the business in our country and 60 percent of the labor force; therefore, this cannot be ignored," Aldeguer-Roque said of the MSMEs.

The new trade chief also mentioned the DTI's five-point strategy she planned to implement.

One was focusing on digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), diversification, and the provision of funding.

Because the nation is composed of more than 7,000 islands, the country must go digital to be able to disseminate information, sell products and get the message across, Aldeguer-Roque said.

"So, we must go digital, and we must also use AI to be able to help us or to assist us in mostly like, for example, question and answer. So, instead of putting time and effort to answer questions or replying to different text messages or inquiries, we can use AI to be able to do this while we focus on growing our business," she added.

In terms of diversification, Aldeguer-Roque said businesses could not rely on a single income, and must have a second source to ensure security and profitability.

And to fund MSME operations, she said the government has been extending easy loans with low interest rates.

"When we started to come in SB Corp., we made loans easier for the MSME — before you need to have a collateral," Aldeguer-Roque said of the financial assistance scheme for MSMEs.

"So, we have to understand that MSMEs don't have collateral; they're just, actually, some are startups, some are just getting started, so definitely they don't have collateral," she added.

Aldeguer-Roque served as the chairman of the SB Corp. — the Small Business Corp., which funds MSMEs.

Special economic zones

Meanwhile, Aldeguer-Roque said the DTI was intensifying government efforts to boost the utilization of the country's 400 Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

She said the move would strengthen the economy, raise revenues and generate more jobs for Filipinos.

"There's an effort to really push for this and to really intensify and to really exhaust all possible ways to be able to use all of these areas so that we can generate income, and we can generate jobs for the Filipinos," Aldeguer-Roque said.

SEZs are selected areas that are highly developed or have the potential to be developed into agro-industrial, commercial, banking, investment and financial hubs.

Aldeguer-Roque said the DTI would be working closely with the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, particularly Secretary Frederick Go, regarding exports and foreign investments.

She also said that the DTI would bolster its drive to increase the competitiveness of MSMEs.

"So, we'll use all the BoI (Board of Investments), the PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority), and all other avenues where we can really create income and create jobs for the Filipino people," Aldeguer-Roque said.