Section 2May 23, 2008, Sec./Art. 2

Section 2 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Recognizing that MSMEs have the potential for more employment generation and economic growth and therefore can help provide a self-sufficient industrial foundation for the country, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote, support,, strengthen and encourage the growth and development of MSMEs in all productive sectors of the economy particularly rural/agri-based enterprises. To this end, the State shall recognize the specific needs of the MSMEs and shall recognize the specific needs of the MSMEs and shall undertake to promote entrepreneurship, support entrepreneurs, encourage the establishments of MSMEs and ensure their continuing viability and growth and thereby attain countryside industrialization by:

"a) intersifying and expanding programs for training in entrepreneurship and for skills development for labor;

"b) facilitating their access to sources of funds;

"c) assuring to them access to a fair share of governments contracts and related incentives and preferences;

"d) complementing and supplementing financing programs for MSMEs and doing away with stringent and burdensome collateral requirements that small entrepreneurs invariably find extreme difficulty complying with;

"e) instituting safeguards for the protection and stability of the credit delivery system;

"f) raising government efficiency and effectiveness in providing assistance to MSMEs throughout the country, at the least cost;

"g) promoting linkages between large and small enterprises, and by encouraging the establishments of common service facilities;

"h) making the private sector a partner in the task of building up MSMEs through the promotion and participation of private voluntary organizations viable industry associations, and cooperatives; and

"i) assuring a balance and sustainable development through the establishment of a feedback and evaluation mechanism that will monitor the economic contributions as well as bottlenecks and environmental effects of the development of MSMEs."