Month: February 2014

Go Negosyo Act Tutulong sa Pagbangon ng Eastern Visayas, Palawan

Senator Bam Aquino believes that the Go Negosyo Act will help rebuild lives and businesses destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda once it is enacted into law.

“The measure contains several provisions that can help Yolanda-stricken communities more quickly get back up on their feet,” said Aquino, the bill’s author and chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.

The Go Negosyo Act seeks to support entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their micro,small, or medium enterprises (MSMEs), which is the main source of income and livelihood of many Filipinos.

The bill was approved Last Monday, the Senate approved the bill on the third and final reading.

The measure also aims to provide access to sources of financing, which is badly needed by entrepreneurs who have lost their livelihood to Yolanda.

“Without access to capital and other forms of support and assistance, I think it will take a very long time before communities get back on their feet,” Aquino said.

Aside from access to financing, the Go Negosyo Act mandates the creation of Negosyo Centers that will serve as hubs for business registration and processing, to facilitate easeof doing business.

The Negosyo Centers will also offer services on business conceptualization and feasibility,capability building, human resources, marketing and other support services.

“The Go Negosyo Act provides for everything that an entrepreneur will need to start or expand their business,” Aquino added.

A few months ago,Aquino visited several areas devastated by the super typhoon and personally witnessed its effects to businesses, especially in Tacloban, considered as the center of business in Leyte.

Sen. Aquino is also currently in Coron, Palawan to meet with local business leaders and fund managers.

“By jumpstarting business operations in devastated areas, we will be able to provide livelihood to residents, strengthen the local economy, and boost the recovery of devastated areas,” Aquino said.

Earlier, the senator called on the rehabilitation commission to provide financial help to entrepreneurs who lost their livelihood to the super typhoon.

Sen. Aquino also urged government financial institutions, such as Land Bank of the Philippines,to give loans to business owners at a low interest rate.

 

Photo source: http://www.tzuchi.org.ph

Stakeholders Laud Passage of Senator Bam’s Go Negosyo Bill

Stakeholders have lauded the Senate’s approval of the Go Negosyo Act on third reading, saying it will help create more employment and income opportunities for all Filipinos.

“The entrepreneur community fully supports the Go Negosyo Bill as this will provide sustained assistance and mentorship support to MSMEs in all the provinces,” said entrepreneur Joey Concepcion, referring to the measure authored by Sen. Bam Aquino and approved by the Senate on the eve of EDSA 28.

“This (measure) will also facilitate the ease of starting and growing a business and spur regional development to create progress and prosperity in the region,” added Concepcion, who is also known for his all-out support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Rody Bioco, president of Bukidnon Kaamulan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., echoed Concepcion’s view, calling the passage of the Go Negosyo Act as a “welcome development” and a “measure whose time has come”.

“Like government, we really hope to attract more people to open up businesses in our communities, but the hassles of putting up and registering a business, filing documents, [and so on] have become too burdensome,” Bioco said.

“We look forward to the day when ease of doing business will become a reality, so that we can attract more local and foreign investors to our area,” he added.

 Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship, emphasized during the EDSA 28 celebration that “economic empowerment should go side by side with political freedom.”

“We should come together again to level the playing field and provide jobs for millions of Filipinos. In this sense, tuloy pa rin ang laban,” the senator stressed.

Aquino said the Go Negosyo Act can help fulfill both as the measure is envisioned to boost job creation and cut unemployment.

“With the Go Negosyo Act, we can boost job creation in many parts of the country, by ensuring the success and growth of MSMEs,” said Aquino.

 According to figures cited by Aquino, at least 66 percent of jobs in the labor force are generated by the MSME sector, which in turn comprises 99 percent of all enterprises in the Philippines.

The bill calls for the creation of Negosyo Centers, under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in each city and municipality around the country.

These Negosyo centers are meant to make it easier for entrepreneurs to register and start up their businesses, as well as gain access to sources of financing.

The Negosyo Centers will also provide courses and development programs, training, give advice on business conceptualization and feasibility, financing, management, capability building, human resources, marketing and other support services.

“This way, we are helping micro enterprises ‘graduate’ into small enterprises, and small enterprises graduate to medium, and so on. For many Filipinos, MSMEs can be the vehicle on the road to prosperity, but government needs to do its share in providing much-needed support,” said Sen. Aquino.

Sen. Bam Aquino’s Message on the 28th Anniversary of the People Power Revolution

Today, we celebrate the 28th anniversary of the People Power Revolution. Through this peaceful and bloodless protest by the people, we have achieved freedom from the clutches of dictatorship.

However, our fight against the prevalent inequality and lack of economic opportunities continues.

As we came together in 1986, once again, let us join hands to help the country’s poor and give everyone a chance to gain employment and livelihood.

At present, the revolution to end poverty continues and more than ever, we need to unite to fulfill the full promise of EDSA.

MENSAHE NI SEN. BAM AQUINO SA PAGDIRIWANG NG PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION

 

Sa araw na ito, ipinagdiriwang natin ang ika-28 na anibersaryo ng People Power Revolution.  Sa pamamagitan ng payapang pagpoprotesta ng taumbayan, nakamit natin ang kalayaan mula sa diktadurya.

Hanggang ngayon, tuloy pa rin ang ating pakikibaka laban sa kawalan ng patas na pagkakataon pagdating sa kabuhayan at ekonomiya.

Tulad ng ating pagkakaisa noong 1986, nawa’y muli tayong magsama-sama upang tulungan ang mahihirap at bigyan ng pagkakataon ang lahat na makapagtrabaho at magnegosyo.

Sa ngayon, tuloy pa rin ang rebolusyon para tapusin ang kahirapan. Lalo’t higit na kailangan nating magkaisa para lubusang maisakatuparan ang pangako ng EDSA.

Go Negosyo Act Passed on 3rd Reading: To Address Massive Unemployment – Sen. Bam

The Go Negosyo Act (SBN 2046), which was passed by the Senate on third and final reading on Monday afternoon, is envisioned boost job creation and cut unemployment.

This was shared by Go Negosyo Act author, Sen. Bam Aquino, as he thanked colleagues in the Upper Chamber for supporting the swift passage of the bill.

“With the Go Negosyo Act, we can boost job creation in many parts of the country, by ensuring the success and growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).”

“Kapag mas maraming negosyo ang nagbukas at lumago, mas marami silang mabibigyan ng kabuhayan at trabaho sa kani-kanilang mga komunidad,” the senator explained.

According to figures cited by Aquino, at least 66 percent of jobs in the labor force are generated by the MSME sector, which in turn comprises 99 percent of all enterprises in the Philippines.

“Sa bawat sari-sari store, bakery, o talyer na magbukas at lumago, halimbawa, kakailanganin nila ng mga empleyado, supplier, at mga partner na magkakaroon rin ng pagkakataong kumita at umasenso. Magkakaroon ng kita’t kabuhayan ang mas maraming pamilyang Pilipino.”

“Sa paglago ng mga maliliit na negosyo, lahat tayo panalo,” Aquino stressed.

The bill mandates the creation of Negosyo Centers, under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in each city and municipality around the country. These Negosyo centers are meant to make it easier for entrepreneurs to register and start up their businesses, as well as gain access to sources of financing.

The Negosyo Centers are also meant to provide courses and development programs, training, give advice on business conceptualization and feasibility, financing, management, capability building, human resources, marketing and other support services.

“With the support of our colleagues in government and the private sector, we can make the Go Negosyo Act a game-changing piece of legislation that can cut unemployment in the country by half–or even more,” Aquino said.

Sen. Bam’s Go Negosyo Bill: Ready, Set, Go!

The Senate has passed on second reading the Go Negosyo Bill, which seeks to address the Philippines’s rising unemployment rate by speeding up the current business registration process and boosting support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The latest figures show that 12.1 million or 27.5 percent of Filipinos are unemployed, the highest since August 2011 when the number reached 29.4 percent.

“There is an urgent need to create more jobs in the country. One way to do it is to make it easier for businesses to start up and succeed–which this bill will enable,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, author of Senate Bill No. 2046 or the Go Negosyo Bill, and chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

The lawmaker believes that by facilitating ease of doing business, potential investors and would-be entrepreneurs will be encouraged to put up their own businesses and boost hiring around the country.

With the bill slated to be tackled again on the floor next week, Aquino encourages fellow senators to join the push for its final approval.

“I call on my fellow lawmakers to join hands and push for the bill’s approval because it will be a big help to the government’s efforts to reduce unemployment and push for inclusive growth,” Aquino stressed.

If enacted into law, the measure will be the first inclusive growth-related act approved by the 16th Congress.

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Gregorio Domingo welcomed the passage of the bill. “We laud the passage of the Go Negosyo Act on second reading at the Senate. We’re grateful to have a champion in the Senate like Senator Aquino, and we’re confident that with a law like this, we’ll be able to support MSMEs as an engine of inclusive growth,” Domingo said.

According to the bill, the MSME sector is essential and should be given enough attention as it comprises 99 percent of all businesses in the Philippines and at least 66 percent of all jobs in the labor force.

“The numbers show that boosting the MSME sector will help us create more decent, sustainable jobs that can lift many Filipinos out of poverty,” Aquino stressed.

The Go Negosyo Bill is designed to update two existing laws: the Magna Carta for MSMEs and the BMBE Law.

The measure strengthens the Magna Carta for MSMEs by establishing Negosyo Centers supervised by DTI in each city and municipality as a hub for MSME registration and development.

Through the help of the Negosyo Center, registration processes of agencies can be streamlined, making it easier for entrepreneurs to put up their businesses.

The Negosyo Center can also boost the development of MSMEs, by providing information for training, financing, and marketing; creating mentoring programs with the help of private institutions and local chambers; and opening access to grants and other forms of financial assistance.

Senate, House Committees on Trade Seal Cooperation

The chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Trade and Commerce have agreed to synchronize their respective legislative agenda, to hasten the passage of important measures that will help boost the economy.

In a meeting, Senator Bam Aquino and Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar agreed to pursue the same direction and fast-track the approval of measures that will help create jobs; boost micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and strengthen the government’s push for inclusive growth.

This marks the first time in the history of the two committees that their chairmen have agreed to harmonize their respective legislative agenda to speed up the passage of crucial bills into law.

“It is important for the two committees to pursue the same direction so that we can hasten the passage of bills that will support the MSME sector and open job opportunities,” Sen. Aquino said.

If these crucial bills will be enacted into law, the senator said it will be easier for the government to pursue its inclusive growth advocacy and make the country’s economic growth felt by every Filipino.

The two lawmakers forged the alliance after both saw the need for legislative measures to boost the economy and create additional jobs.

However, they both expressed concern that these bills will not gain ground and gather dust at the committee level.

“Now that the House and Senate have one legislative agenda in terms of trade and commerce, these important bills have a strong chance to be passed into law at the soonest possible time,” Aquino said.

Among the measures that will be prioritized by the two committees are the Go Negosyo Bill, the Fair Competition Bill, the Coastwise Trade Bill, the Exact Change Bill, and the Lemon Law Bill.

The two committees are also planning to pursue amendments in the Consumer Act and Price Act, where it was proposed that construction materials be put under price control during calamities.

The two lawmakers are also planning to conduct a joint oversight committee hearing regarding the challenges of financing small businesses.

Aquino and Villar both have extensive background in business before joining politics. Sen. Aquino is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, while Rep. Villar is the son of former senator Manny Villar and present senator Cynthia Villar, who are known as entrepreneurs.

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