By Ben Rosario Concerned about the plight of Filipinos who are "self-employed, freelancers, and independent contractors” left out of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano urged those affected to organize to make it easier for government to assist them. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (Alan Peter Cayetano / Facebook page/ MANILA BULLETIN) Cayetano said this sector of society may have been left out of the cash assistance program, but this may be caused by the lack of an updated database of informal workers, including self-employed workers. Getting themselves organized will allow government to assist them especially during the implementation of the new extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). “With an organized group, it would be much easier for self-employed workers to voice out their sentiments to the government, and how we can help their sector,” the House Speaker noted. According to the Speaker, many belonging to this sector have approached him with their concerns. “Freelancers in the entertainment industry who regularly perform in events, restobars, comedy bars, have reached out to us and shared some of their fears and uncertainties given the extended community quarantine,” he said. “While most of them pay taxes, many are not members of the SSS (Social Security System). This will make it difficult for them to receive assistance because they are not part of the database.” Under the current Small Business Wage Subsidy Program, small businesses can qualify regardless if they are registered as a corporation, partnership, or sole partnership, as long as they are not on the BIR’s Large Taxpayer Service list. Since freelancers have no direct employers who can file the application for them, they cannot qualify for this program. But under the proposed economic stimulus measure that is currently being discussed in the Defeat COVID Committee of the House of Representatives, freelancers, self-employed workers, independent contractors, and repatriated OFWS will now be included in the list of workers that can benefit from the wage subsidies. It is also being proposed that they can apply through an open application window system. Congress is also proposing that the wage subsidy be given for a maximum for two months.