Senator Cayetano wants government to help small businesses become more creative, independent

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday expressed support for Simplified Government Aid Access Act but said such efforts should be complemented by long-term programs to help small businesses become more self-sufficient, creative, and independent.

Cayetano made the manifestation on February 18, 2026, during the deliberations on Senate Bill No. 155, or the Simplified Government Aid Access Act.

Voting 19-0-0, the Senate on Wednesday approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 155 that aims to streamline the delivery of government assistance and eliminate political influence from the process.

However, Cayetano also urged both the Senate and the executive branch to pursue medium- and long-term initiatives aimed at reducing dependence on doleouts by strengthening entrepreneurship and promoting self-reliance.

“While we support this bill (Senate Bill 155) and while this is a good endeavor, may I encourage all of us, especially sa Executive Department, to come up with programs that push for independence, creativity for small businesses, for people to take care of themselves, that will eventually shove out y’ung mga doleouts natin,” he said.

“If you look at Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, all of these countries have programs for micro and small entrepreneurs. Sa atin, ‘5-6’ pa rin,” he said, referring to informal lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates.

Cayetano pointed out that substantial funds are already allocated annually for financial assistance, which he said provided the context for his earlier proposal to distribute a uniform amount of aid directly to families to reduce red tape and expedite delivery.

“We have almost P200 billion in ayuda every year… Actually, it's increased to more than P300 billion [already]. That’s why I proposed na bigyan na lang ng diyes mil diretso lahat because we can actually do it,” he said.

He added that the same urgency shown in advancing simplified aid access should also be applied to legislation and programs supporting entrepreneurship, access to capital, education, and health.

“It’s in my hope na kung gaano natin kabilis naipasa ang Senate Bill No. 155, y’ung mga programa sa entrepreneurship, puhunan, kapital, mga pondo para sa edukasyon at kalusugan, maipasa [rin] natin agad,” he said.

Cayetano is the principal sponsor of the landmark E-Governance Law (Republic Act No. 12254), which aims to enhance government efficiency, streamline public services, and promote transparency through the use of information and communications technology.

-Paraluman News