MANILA - State-owned Philippine Guarantee Corporation (PhilGuarantee) has reached nearly PHP3 billion in financing assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through its credit guarantee facilities, in line with its key assistance role during the pandemic period that started in 2020. PhilGuarantee president and chief executive officer Alberto Pascual said the agency's credit guarantee portfolio for MSMEs registered a remarkable performance since the pilot implementation of the MSME Credit Guarantee Program (MCGP) in December 2020, with an initial portfolio of PHP207 million. As of March 10, 2022, he said the cumulative releases on the MCGP are currently at PHP2.950 billion, with MSME beneficiaries now at 20,310 entrepreneurs. A total of PHP1.48 billion of these releases were supported by the corporation's credit guarantee facilities to such groups. "The growth in the MSME credit guarantee portfolio, with the support of 18 banks in the country, represented mo