Issues

Sen. Bam: Mindanao to Become Magnet for Investors

With the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), Senator Bam Aquino expects Mindanao to become a magnet for businesses and investments that will boost its long-awaited economic development.

“Now that the CAB is signed, sealed and delivered, Mindanao will be an attractive destination for businessmen who will provide jobs and other livelihood in the region,” said Aquino, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

Aquino also called the signing as “the start of the long-awaited development of the region known for its rich natural resources.”

“With peace and security now at hand, the region’s journey from decades of infamy to prosperity and economic growth now begins,” the senator said.

The senator believes that the expected economic development will help uplift the lives of our brothers and sisters in the region, especially those living in war-torn areas.

“The arrival of businesses and other investments in the area will give them a chance to revive lost opportunities and due to the conflict,” Aquino noted.

Aquino added that the government’s quest for inclusive growth would be achieved, with Mindanao on its way to economic development.

At the same time, Aquino emphasized the importance of his “Go Negosyo Act” in helping Mindanao in development, saying it will open opportunities for small businessmen and entrepreneurs in the region.

The Act, which was passed on third reading by the Senate, calls for creation of Negosyo Centers, under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in each city and municipality around the country.

Aquino said these Negosyo centers are designed to make it easier for entrepreneurs to register and start their own 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.

Photo source: Rappler.com

Senator Bam Aquino’s Statement on the Signing of the Bangsamoro Comprehensive Agreement

The signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signals the start of a new era of peace and economic development in Mindanao.

With this pact, we are hoping for an end to the decade-long conflict between the two sides that resulted in death of thousands and loss of homes and livelihood of millions more in Mindanao.

Also, this also marks the start of the long-awaited development of the region known for its rich natural resources.

If there is peace and security, Mindanao will become a magnet for business and investments that will provide jobs and other livelihood to our brothers and sisters in Mindanao.

With the help of this agreement, the government’s quest for inclusive growth will be easier to achieve.

Photo source: PNoy’s Official Facebook Page

Sen. Bam: Youth Unemployment a Growing Epidemic

With an estimated 700,000 fresh graduates joining the ranks of the unemployed, the number of jobless youth ranging from 15 to 24 years old in the country will breach the two million mark

Senator Bam Aquino believes that there will be no end in sight to this alarming trend unless the government launches a massive and serious campaign to address the problem.

“While we commend the government’s efforts to solve the rising number of unemployed youth in the country, it is not enough because, like an epidemic, the number keeps growing and growing every year,” said Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth.

At present, Aquino said the number of unemployed youth accounts for half of the country’s 2.9 million jobless workers.

If the definition of youth under Republic Act 8044 is to be followed, the present number of jobless individuals ranging from 15 to 30 years old increased to 2.13 million.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that there are 3.8 million job vacancies waiting to be filled, especially in industries such as services, construction, tourism, and information, technology and communications, and the business process outsourcing (BPO).

“However, many of these vacancies remain as such because of other factors such as the prevalent job and skills mismatch,” said Aquino, adding that 35.8 percent of the time, applicants are rejected due to lack of competency or skill.

Aquino said the government should take steps to address job mismatch, which stems from lack of proper education and training of applicants for a particular line of work.

“Usually, job mismatch happens when an applicant cannot comply with the technical skills needed for a position,” Aquino said.

Aside from addressing job mismatch, Aquino encouraged the government to come up with programs that will help the youth turn into entrepreneurs.

The Senate has been tackling several bills on youth entrepreneurship to help address the problem of unemployed youth.

“With the slow pace of the country’s legislative mill, it will take months or years before these measures are enacted into law. That’s why the government needs to take the initiative and start these programs right away,” Aquino said.

Aquino believes that the government’s push for inclusive growth will not take off unless the problems of youth unemployment and underemployment are not immediately addressed.

The senator believes that would-be youth entrepreneurs should be given access to financing, training, market linkages, and other means of support that will help them run and develop their own businesses.

Photo source: studentthinktank.eu 

Sen. Bam to Private Companies: Help Solve Job Mismatch Woes

Senator Bam Aquino calls on private companies to relax its educational requirement rules in hiring employees to help address the problem of job mismatch in the country.

“I’m aware that companies have certain educational standards regarding their employees but they also have the responsibility help the country and one way of doing it is to at least relax their requirements,” Aquino said.

Job mismatch happens when an applicant cannot comply with the demands of educational requirements for a position.

“This problem contributes to our growing unemployment rate, which, as of last count increased from 7.1 percent to 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2014,” Aquino said, citing a report from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

DOLE reported that there are 3.8 million job vacancies waiting to be filled, especially in industries such as services, construction, tourism, and information, technology and communications, and the business process outsourcing (BPO).

“However, many of these vacancies remain as such because of the job and skills mismatch,” said Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

Aside from the cooperation of private companies, Aquino said the government should take steps to address job mismatch, which stemmed from lack of proper education and training of applicants for a particular line of work.

Aquino called on the DOLE, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to join forces in combating the prevalent job mismatch problem.

“These four government agencies should launch a massive awareness drive in high schools to inform students on what the right course to take in college,” Aquino said.

Sen. Bam: Substandard Steel Products Killed Hundreds in Bohol, Cebu

A senator blamed substandard steel products for the death of hundreds of people in the Magnitude 7.2 earthquake that devastated Bohol and Cebu last year.

“Hundreds of lives were lost because of substandard and inferior steel products used in houses and other infrastructure,” Sen. Bam Aquino stressed as he filed a resolution seeking to investigate alleged proliferation of uncertified, substandard and smuggled steel products in the country.

Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, witnessed the devastation caused by the earthquake in a recent trip to several areas in Bohol.

“During my visit, I saw two houses just several meters apart. One was completely destroyed and the other was still standing after the earthquake,” he said.

Overall, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that the death toll from the earthquake was 222.

“Selling substandard steel is a question of greed and a question of corruption. That’s why we need to investigate this before we lose hundreds of lives to another earthquake or devastation, God forbid,” Aquino stressed.

Backing up his claim, Aquino mentioned a report by the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) in the aftermath of the disastrous earthquake that inflicted severe damage in the provinces of Bohol and Cebu.

Aquino said a technical team deployed by PISI discovered that there was widespread use of substandard bars and angle bars in the construction of residential houses and public structures such as public markets and bridges.

The senator also received reports from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), PISI and Steel Angles, Shapes and Sections Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (SASSMAPI) on the rampant selling of substandard steel products like reinforcing steel bars or rebars in different parts of the country.

Rebars are used in construction of buildings and other infrastructure to ensure strength and integrity in their concrete foundations and structures.

In their respective reports, PISI and SASSMAPI said they purchased substandard steel products from hardware stores in Bulacan while DTI seized thousands of uncertified products like rebars and angle bars from different hardwares in Caloocan City.

The DTI said the confiscated steel products had no Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) or PS Mark, raising suspicions that they are smuggled into the country. The other confiscated products had PS Mark but failed the standard test conducted on them.

Earlier, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has confiscated P24 million worth of smuggled steel from China at the Manila port.

Also, the BOC filed smuggling-related cases against Shine Rapadas Montes, owner and proprietress of Thunder Birds Trading for misdeclaring her firm’s importation of steel angle bars.

Sen. Bam: No Graduation Fees in Public Elementary & High Schools

Senator Bam Aquino reminded public elementary and high school officials about the existing Department of Education (DepEd) policy that prohibits collection of graduation fees.

Under DepEd Order No. 8, series of 2005, Aquino said graduation fees or any other kind of contribution is not a prerequisite for graduation.

“Any public school official who will prevent a student from graduating due to failure to pay any kind of graduation fee will be subjected to administrative sanctions,” warned Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth.

Aquino supported the call of DepEd Secretary Br. Armin Luistro not to collect any fees from parents for the graduation ceremonies.

Aquino said the practice of collecting graduation fees must stop because the 1987 Constitution mandates the government to provide free public education at the elementary and secondary levels.

“No less than the 1987 Constitution protects our rights to free education and we must take the necessary steps to uphold this provision,” Aquino said.

In connection with this, Aquino called on different private sectors to report to the DepEd public school officials who violate the order.

“We need to put a stop to this and one way of doing it is to get the public’s cooperation as they are our eyes and ears on the ground,” Aquino stressed.

At the same time, Aquino called on private schools to forego of lavish graduation ceremonies and instead donate to the rehabilitation of earthquake victims in Bohol and Cebu and Yolanda survivors in Eastern Visayas.

“Our countrymen in devastated areas still need our help,” said Aquino, who recently visited Bohol to observe the ongoing rehabilitation in earthquake-hit areas.

Photo source: Inquirer.net

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.

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.

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