Albay Representative Joey Salceda proposes the amendment of the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for it to be relevant to present times.
According to Rep. Salceda, his proposition to amend the law does not mean something needs to be corrected.
“I wouldn’t say there is anything ‘wrong’ with the Magna Carta for MSMEs so much as we need to update it,” he told the media. “It served its time when it was enacted almost 15 years ago. Now, MSMEs have changed dramatically in character, and we have new laws that supersede the ones referred to [in the magna carta],” he added.
One such law is the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act.
The MSME magna carta “still refers to the Omnibus Investment Code, particularly with respect to simplifying availment of tax incentives under that Code,” Salceda explained.
“Of course, that has been superseded by the Create law, which is of course size-neutral except for investments above $1 billion, which it seeks to attract. We can change the magna carta to refer to and be compatible with Create,” he said.
Enacted in 1991 as Republic Act 6977, the magna carta was amended by Republic Act (RA) 8289 in 1997 and further amended by RA 9501 in 2008.
