DAVAO CITY — Close to 150 participants from the House of Representatives, government agencies and local business sector will gather at the Grand Men Seng Hotel here on February 10 to tackle the proposed amendments of Republic Act 9178 or the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) Act of 2002.

Headed by the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development (SBED), the public hearing seeks to gather all comments and recommendations on the amendatory bill.

SBED committee chair Rep. Teddy A. Casino said the inputs of the stakeholders will be very valuable in helping the Committee come up with a meaningful legislation that will address the concerns of entrepreneurs especially the micro sector.

Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, author of House Bill No. 1113, said while RA 9178 has very commendable objectives of encouraging the start-up of barangay micro business enterprises and for those in the underground economy to formalize and integrate their businesses to the mainstream economy, many of them still opt to remain informal due to fear of countless bureaucratic requirements.

Per records gathered, Romualdez said, the BMBE Law yielded only 6,598 registered BMBEs, 0.9 percent of the 720,000 potential registrants, after four years of implementation.

House Bill No. 1708 of Rep. Toms V. Apacible and House Bill No. 1816 of Rep. Emmeline Y. Aglipay also proposed some amendments to the law.

Davao City officials composed of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, first district Rep. Karlo B. Nograles, second district Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano and third district Rep. Isidro T. Ungab; Davao del Norte’s Representatives Anthony G. del Rosario (first district) and Antonio Lagdameo, Jr. (second district); Davao del Sur representatives Marc Douglas C. Cagas IV (first district) and Franklin P. Bautista (second district); and Davao Oriental Representatives Nelson L. Dayanghirang (first district) and Thelma Z. Almario (second district) are expected to participate in the public hearing. (PNA)

LAP/Grace M. Mendoza/ldp