Bill of Sen. Bam Aquino

Bam: Open Gov’t Offices to all Filipinos

Government shouldn’t discriminate. Its doors should be open to all Filipinos, rich or poor.
 
A senator wants all government agencies to eliminate dress code to allow more Filipinos to avail of services and allow them to participate in assemblies concerning their welfare, especially in legislative hearings and sessions.
 
In his Senate Bill No. 3089 or the Philippine Government Agency Open Door Act of 2015, Sen. Bam Aquino stressed that every Filipino should be permitted to participate in assemblies that affect them and their community, particularly legislative hearings and sessions.
 
“All Filipinos must be granted access to frontline services, especially from public offices,” he said.
 
However, needless dress code policies serve as barriers to many of our marginalized Filipinos and those from indigenous groups as they seek to become more participative and rightfully demand services.
 
“How can they raise their voice when they’re standing in the heat and behind cold walls? These are the countrymen we are called to serve,” said Sen. Bam, adding that it’s time to open government offices and be more considerate of our policies for all Filipinos, regardless of economic status.
 
The Philippine Government Agency Open Door Act of 2015 aims to mandate all government offices to accept entry to all Filipinos and to eliminate the dress code some agencies that are following.
 
“We are called to open the doors to those that have the least in our society, those we have the most to learn from, and those that we desperately need to hear,” Sen. Bam stressed.
 
“We have the opportunity and a duty to generate policies that contribute to a nation that is fair, just, and inclusive. We have a responsibility to create a Philippines where all Filipinos, even minorities and marginalized sectors can live free from discrimination,” he added.
 
Sen. Bam worked with poor communities on business projects as a social entrepreneur before becoming a senator in 2013.

Congress Ratifies Youth Entrepreneurship Act

Both houses of Congress have ratified the Youth Entrepreneurship Act, seen as an effective tool to address the growing number of jobless young people in the country, which currently stands at 1.32 million.

“With its imminent passage into law, the government can now meet the challenges of youth unemployment head on,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Youth, and Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

“The passage of this law only shows that the government is serious in addressing youth unemployment, which I consider as a growing epidemic that should be looked into immediately,” added the senator.

In their latest report, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) and National Statistics Office (NSO) said that there are 1.32 million youth from ages 15 to 24 years old as of January 2015.

“This is unacceptable because we have a lot of promising youth whose talents are going down the drain because of lack of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities,” said Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam said that European countries have provided billions of Euros worth of loans for the youth to help them start their own businesses.

The measure aims to change the public school curriculum and paradigm, as it creates financial literacy modules in all levels of Philippine education, to inclucate a culture of enterprise development among the Filipino youth.

“This Act has the potential to revolutionize our mindset as a people from wanting to be an employee of a company to being a boss of their own enterprise,” Sen. Bam emphasized.

The Act also provides would-be youth entrepreneurs access to financing, training, market linkages, and other means of support that will help them run and develop their own business.

After Long Wait, Congress Ratifies Act Penalizing Cartels, Abuse of Dominant Positions

“Historic, game-changing for our economy,” Sen. Bam Aquino describes the Philippine Competition Act after its ratification.

 After three decades of waiting and 30 hours of bicameral conference hearing, Congress has finally ratified the Philippine Competition Act that penalizes bad market behavior and abuse of dominant positions.

“If enacted into law, the measure will create a level playing field, whether big or small, when it comes to market opportunities,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

For almost thirty years, the Philippines has remained one of few countries that does not have a valid competition policy that will protect its consumers and private industries.

“It has been one of the longest running bills in our history,” Sen. Bam said, as the first competition policy was filed in the 8th Congress.

After World War II, Japan passed its Original Antimonopoly Law in 1947 while the United Kingdom passed its Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act in 1948.

Other ASEAN countries have also passed their respective competition laws, starting with Indonesia and Thailand in 1999, Singapore in 2004, Vietnam in 2005, and Malaysia in 2012.

“This is primary a huge victory for millions of consumers, who, in the end, will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this measure,” added Sen. Bam, whose Senate Bill No. 1027 or the Philippine Competition Act was among the measures consolidated under Senate Bill No. 2282.

President Aquino is expected to sign the measure into law as it is one of his administration’s urgent measures.

Sen. Bam said the Philippine Competition Act is expected to eliminate cartels, and penalize anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant players in the markets that lead to high prices of goods and services.

“In addition, the Philippine Competition Act promotes a culture of healthy competition that inspires ingenuity, creativity, and innovation in addressing market needs,” Sen. Bam said.

“We need more players in our markets, so that the quality of products and services increases, and prices of goods would then go down,” Sen. Bam added.

 The measure will also prohibit anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant position that distort, manipulate, or constrict the operations of markets in the Philippines.

“We thank the hard work of our fellow senators and our congress counterparts in coming up with a solid bill that will further help our economy down the road,” Sen. Bam emphasized.

Sen. Bam also credited the late Rep. Henry Cojuangco for actively pursuing the bill’s House version. Cojuangco died from aneurysm, hours before the bill hurdled the second reading at the House of Representatives last May 12. 

“Panalo ang taumbayan dahil sa pagpasa ng panukalang ito,” the senator highlighted.

“We would like to tell the world that with the Philippine Competition Act, our country is now open for business,” Sen. Bam happily declared.

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