Author: teambam

BIDA KA!: Unang SONA

Mga bida, noong Lunes napakinggan natin ang kauna-unahang State of the Nation Address (SONA) ni Pangulong Rody Duterte, 26 na araw matapos maupo bilang ika-16 na pinuno ng bansa.

Isa’t kalahating oras ang haba ng talumpati ni Pangulong Duterte, na sumentro sa iba’t ibang isyung mahalaga sa bansa at inaantaba­yanan ng taumbayan.

Mula sa iligal na droga, pagnenegosyo, kalikasan, katiwalian, mabilis na serbisyo sa pamahalaan, isyu sa China, problema sa Internet, kapayapaan at kagutuman, natalakay ni Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang SONA.

Malinaw ring nailatag ng Pangulo ang mga direktiba sa mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan at ang direksiyon ng mga plano na nangangailangan ng tulong ng mga mambabatas.

Kasama rito ang pagbuo ng isang pederal na sistema ng pamahalaan at pagbababa ng buwis ng mamamayan.

***

Sinabayan ng Pangulong Duterte ang talumpati ng kanyang trademark na mga biro at punchline na nagbigay-tuwa sa mga mambabatas at iba pang mga panauhin na nagtipon sa plenaryo ng Kamara.

Sa kabila ng mga birong ito, ramdam natin na seryoso si Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang mga binitiwang kataga, lalo na nang ikuwento niya ang mga taong natutulog sa kalsada habang naghihintay na magbukas ang ahensiya ng gobyerno na nasa isang mall.

Maaalala ang speech ng Pangulo sa pagbabahagi niya ng personal na karanasan at ‘di pagsunod sa script na nasa teleprompter.

***

Nagpapasalamat din tayo kay Pangulong Duterte sa pagbanggit niya sa ilang mga adbokasiya na isinusulong natin sa Senado.

Kabilang na rito ang pagpapabilis ng proseso sa pagkuha ng mga papeles sa pamahalaan, pagpapaganda sa serbisyo ng Internet, pagpapababa ng buwis, pagtulong sa entrepreneurs at pagpapaganda ng sistema ng edukasyon sa bansa.

Mga bida, hindi naman lingid sa inyo na isinusulong na natin ang mabilis at abot-kayang Internet sa bansa noon pang 16th Congress.

Sa direktiba ni Duterte sa bagong tatag na Department of Information and Communication Technology na bumuo ng isang National Broadband Plan, inaasahan nating gaganda ang serbisyo ng Internet sa bansa.

Marami rin tayong naipasang batas na sumusuporta sa micro, small and medium enterprises at nagtataguyod ng ease of doing business sa 16th Congress, tulad ng Philippine Competition Act, Go Negosyo Act ar Youth Entrepreneurship Act.

Ang mga batas na ito ay makatutulong sa hangarin ni Pangulong Duterte na pabilisin ang proseso ng pagnenegosyo at paigtingin pa ang serbisyo sa ating micro, small at medium enterprises, na siyang haligi ng ating ekonomiya.

Ngayong 17th Congress, naghain tayo ng 100 panukalang batas at resolusyon ukol sa iba’t ibang isyu, kabilang ang pagpapaganda ng sistema ng edukasyon at reporma sa pagbubuwis sa pamamagitan ng Personal Tax Reform at Corporate Tax Reform bills.

Ngayong malinaw na ang direksiyon na nais tahakin ng Duterte administration, tiwala tayo na maisasabatas ang mga panukalang ito, para na rin sa kapakanan ng publiko.

Nagpalit man ng liderato ang Senado, tuluy-tuloy pa rin tayo sa pagtatrabaho para sa ating mga bida.

Palagi kong sinasabi na magkakaiba man ang aming mga partido, pagbubuklurin pa rin kami ng aming pagnanais na pagsilbihan ang taumbayan.

Article first published on Abante Online

Bam eyes to ‘reduce requirements & processing time’ in gov’t agencies

A senator has filed a measure that aims to reduce regulatory requirements that burden the public and businesses.
 
“Lengthy, complicated and overlapping regulations from various government agencies result in costly and time consuming processes that have inconvenienced far too many Filipinos for too long,” said Sen. Bam Aquino as he filed Senate Bill No. 348 or the Government Efficiency Office (GEO) Act of 2016.
 
 “Obtaining government I.D.s, paying taxes, requesting for necessary permits and other dealings with government leaves citizens frustrated, often pushing them to find extrajudicial avenues to fulfill requirements,” he added.
 
In case of businessmen, Sen. Bam pointed out that obtaining each necessary permit involves up to 30 steps aside from 47 tax payments to make each year, which consume an average of 193 business hours.
 
“These bureaucratic inefficiencies can lead to the failure of a fledgling business. It is no wonder the Philippines ranks 103rd out 189 countries in the Doing Business rankings by the World Bank,” the senator stressed.
 
To do away with regulatory barriers that hamper the nation’s growth and oppress Filipinos, the Government Efficiency Office Act seeks the creation of a special arm under the Office of the President that will be tasked to ensure efficiency in the existing and proposed regulations across government agencies.
 
This measure seeks to create a National Policy on the Development and Implementation of Regulations (NPDIR) to set policy­making principles and guidelines to be followed by all government agencies.
 
Under the measure, a Government Efficiency Office is mandated to implement the NPDIR. It will be tasked to review existing regulations and recommend their repeal, amendment or consolidation to relieve the public of the heavy burden of compliance.
 
With a streamlined regulatory procedure, Sen. Bam said individuals will be encouraged to comply with the law and make the market more accessible for businesses and MSMEs.
 
If enacted into law, Sen. Bam believes the Government Efficiency Office Act will contribute to President Rodrigo Duterte’s commitment to spare the public from hassles and delays in government transactions.

Bam ready for challenges as he takes helm of education committee

Sen. Bam Aquino expressed readiness to take on the challenge of improving the Philippine education system after he was appointed chairman of the Committee on Education in the 17th Congress.
 
“I am looking forward to heading the committee on education and concentrating our efforts on ensured access to quality education for all Filipinos,” said Sen. Bam.
 
“Alam naman natin na ang edukasyon ang isang tiyak na solusyon sa pag-unlad ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino kaya lubos namin itong sineseryoso,” he added.
 
Even before officially taking the helm of the education committee, Sen. Bam has already filed sixteen education related measures in the 17th Congress, including a resolution to oversee the implementation of major reforms under the K to 12 program.
 
One of his boldest policies, Senate Bill No. 177, seeks to make tertiary education free in all State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).
 
He also hopes to ensure that graduates are given access to available job opportunities by creating an employment office in every senior high school through the passage of the Trabaho Center in Schools Bill (Senate Bill No. 170).
 
Another promising measure endeavors to further reduce the number of out of school youth (OSY) in the country through the Abot Alam Bill (Senate Bill No. 171).
 
Through this bill, Sen. Bam wishes to institutionalize the successful Abot Alam program headed by the Department of Education and the National Youth Commission that has already cut the number of OSYs in half.
 
Other measures focus on the welfare and benefits of Filipino students and teachers.
 
“Marami pa tayong isusulong na mga panukala na tutulong sa pagpapaangat ng kalidad at abot-kayang edukasyon sa bansa,” Sen. Bam promised.
 
“This is a big challenge but with hard work and team work, I believe we can create lasting reforms that will uplift the lives of our young countrymen and their families,” he added.
 
Overall, Sen. Bam has 15 laws to his credit and has already filed over 100 bills and resolutions for the 17th Congress.

 

Bam: President Duterte’s SONA very refreshing, sincere

Senate Bill No. 357: Zero Food Waste

Around one third of the food produced globally, equivalent to 1.3 billion tons or worth US$1 trillion (around P46 trillion), is wasted annually according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). There are both economic and environmental costs to this wastage. The forests and biodiversity cleared to create farmlands, along with the soils, energy, water, fertilizer, and labor utilized to produce food that is never eaten are also put to waste. A total of 28% of the global agricultural region is used to produce food that will eventually go to waste, according to the World Resources Institute. Furthermore, most of the greenhouse gas emissions are generated by food disposed of in landfills. With around 1 in 4 calories yielded remaining unconsumed, and a population of around 870 million without equitable access to food resources daily, this absurd disjuncture deems moral implications to this profound amount of discarded food.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food loss as the decrease in the amount or nutritional quality of food that was intended for human consumption. FAO says that more than 40% of food loss in developing countries such as the Philippines happens before consumption—during production, postharvest, and processing.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) reports that rice losses reach around 15% in the postharvest stage. In addition, an estimated 296,869 metric tons of rice, equivalent to P7.3 billion, is wasted in the country according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI). The discarded amount could have fed more than 2 million Filipinos.

The food waste reduction hierarchy set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) shows, through an inverted triangular diagram, the most preferred to the least preferred actions that can be done with food waste. Topmost is source reduction, followed by donation to the hungry, diversion to animal feed, recovering energy, creating compost, and at the bottom is disposal of food in landfills. The provision of this bill on the National Anti-Food Waste Campaign addresses the proper information dissemination on the ways by which Filipinos can follow the food waste reduction hierarchy.

All this information point towards a conclusion that there is more than enough food in the world for everyone. And as a member-state to the United Nations and a country bound to the Sustainable Development Goals that forward human rights and social justice, it is highly essential for the Government to facilitate in redirecting surplus to those who do not have food on their plates.

By getting food-related businesses to donate their surplus food to food distribution charities thus providing food security to those without access to their next meal, this bill seeks to ultimately end the cycle of having food end up in the trash instead of stomachs.

The bill also demands the involvement of private individuals and their local governments in efficiently arriving at a segregation campaign to have household food waste readily available for recycling into fertilizer or compost.

 

PDFicon  DOWNLOAD SBN 357

 

 

 

Bam welcomes President Duterte’s EO on FOI

Senator Bam Aquino lauds President Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI), saying it is a “welcome development in the fight for transparency and good governance”. 

“We believe wholeheartedly that this Executive Order will aid in the fight against corruption,” said Sen. Bam.

In the 16th Congress, Sen. Bam was among the senators who pushed for the enactment of the FOI into law, passing it on third and final reading. 

However, it did not come to fruition as the House failed to come up with its own version of the measure. 

In the 17th Congress, Sen. Bam has filed a measure entitled the People’s Freedom of Information Act seeking to institutionalize the FOI into law. 

“This is a bold step in the right direction, and hopefully, the legislature can follow the President’s lead and institutionalize this into a law as well,” the senator added.

Bam wants businesses to give spare food to poor

A senator wants food-related businesses to donate their spare food to food-distribution charities or “food banks” to provide food security to our poorest Filipino families while also addressing food waste.

 “Sa taas ng presyo ng bilihin at presyo ng pagkain ngayon, hindi makatarungan na maraming nasasayang na pagkain,” said Sen. Bam Aquino as he filed Senate Bill No. 357 or the Zero Food Waste Act.

 In his measure, Sen. Bam wants to “ultimately end the cycle of having food end up in the trash instead of stomachs”.

 Sen. Bam submitted the measure days after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released its 2016 first-quarter report, indicating that the number of families that experienced involuntary hunger rose to 3.1 million from 2.6 million in the last quarter of 2015.

 According to SWS, the total hunger rate accelerated to 13.7 percent during 2016’s first quarter from 2015’s fourth quarter of 11.7 percent.

 The measure seeks to create a National Anti-Food Waste Scheme, with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as coordinating agency between food businesses, such as food manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants, cafeterias, and hotels, and food banks.

 The scheme will set guidelines and standards for the collection, storage, and distribution of edible food donated to food banks. It will also promote linkages between food banks and LGUs to create a community-based food distribution system for the food insecure.

 It will establish a Self-Sufficiency Program that provides the food insecure with skills training on managing food banks and livelihood programs to avoid dependence on donations.

 Food-related businesses will shoulder the costs of transporting edible food waste from business location to the food bank’s warehouse or distribution center and ensure its good condition upon arrival.

 If enacted into law, the penalty of prision correccional will be imposed on any individual, private or public, who deliberately makes food waste unfit for consumption.

 Sen. Bam said the same penalty is applicable to private or public actors who prevent the redirection of edible food waste to food banks or inedible food waste to waste management and recycling enterprises.

 In addition, Sen. Bam said the measure will push private individuals and their local governments to participate in a segregation campaign to have food waste readily available for recycling into fertilizer or compost.

Bam hopes Duterte’s SONA includes plans for employment, poverty reduction

Apart from his intensified campaign against illegal drugs, President Duterte can lay down a clear plan on how he will address the country’s other pressing problems, such as employment, education and poverty reduction, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

“President Duterte can discuss important topics that matter to the lives of Filipinos like education, employment and poverty reduction,” replied Sen. Bam when asked in a television interview about his wish list of issues that should be discussed by Duterte in his SONA.

“He can talk about the West Philippine Sea issue as well. These are things, I think that people will be very interested in,” added Sen. Bam, chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

“We need to ensure that prices are stable and more importantly, that Filipino families have the wherewithal to address their most basic needs.”

In the recent Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan survey conducted from July 2 to 8, Filipinos want the new Duterte administration to prioritize three economic issues.

These are increase in prices of goods (68 percent), creation of jobs (56 percent) and implementation of pro-poor initiatives (55 percent). Around 48 percent of Filipinos mentioned fighting criminality as the fourth most pressing concern.

In the 17th Congress, Sen. Bam has filed several measures that will help end contractualization in the labor sector, provide free college education, and boost the government’s poverty reduction program. 

Sen. Bam Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 174 or the End Endo Act that seeks to eliminate the unjust “Endo” (end contract) practice in the country.

The measure will put a stop to fixed term employment or hiring of workers based on a limited and fixed period without regularization so more Filipinos are assured of job security and steady compensation.

The senator also filed Senate Bill No. 177 that pushes for free tertiary education in all State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) for all students.

He also filed the Trabaho Center in Schools Bill (Senate Bill No. 170) and the Abot Alam Bill (Senate Bill No. 171).

In his Trabaho Center in Schools Bill, Sen. Bam wants to create a job placement office or Trabaho Center to assist Senior High School graduates who opt to find employment and help them find those opportunities.

The Abot Alam Bill will create a comprehensive national framework designed to achieve the government’s aim to provide education for each and every Filipino, particularly out-of-school youth (OSY).

The bill seeks to institutionalize the highly successful Abot Alam convergence program led by the Department of Education and National Youth Commission.

BIDA KA!: Isang Simpleng Parangal sa ating Big Brother

Mga bida, isa sa mga hinahangaan at tinitingala kong personalidad ay si dating Education Sec. Bro. Armin Luistro, isa sa pinakamasipag na miyembro ng Gabinete sa nakaraang administrasyon.

Nagsimula si Bro. Armin bilang religion teacher sa De La Salle Lipa noong dekada otsenta. Mula noon, umangat siya sa posisyon at naging pinuno ng walong institusyon ng De La Salle bilang pangulo at CEO ng De La Salle Philippines (DLSP).

***

Noong 2010, sa unang pagkakataon ay sumabak si Bro. Armin sa paglilingkod sa gobyerno nang italaga siyang kalihim ng Department of Education (DepEd).

Agad napasabak sa mga hamon si Bro. Armin. Sinalubong siya ng katakut-takot na problema, gaya ng kakulangan na 61.7 milyon sa libro, 2.5 milyon sa upuan, 66,800 silid aralan at 145,827 guro.

Maliban pa rito, si Bro. Armin din ang naatasan sa preparasyon at paglalatag ng kontrobersiyal na K to 12 Program.

***

Hindi naman nagpatinag si Bro. Armin sa mga gabundok na problema na sinalo ng Aquino government na kailangan niyang tugunan.

Hinarap niya ang mga problemang ito para na rin sa kapakanan ng milyun-milyong estudyante sa buong Pilipinas.

Sa gitna ng batikos sa kanyang bawat kilos at galaw, epektibo at tahimik na nagampanan ni Bro. Armin ang tungkulin.

Sa isang panayam kay Bro. Armin bago siya bumaba sa puwesto, sinabi niyang nabura ang backlog sa silid aralan nang makapagpatayo ang ahensiya ng 118,000 bagong classrooms mula 2010 hanggang 2016.

Maliban dito, may 66,000 pang classrooms ang kasalukuyan nang itinatayo kaya aakyat sa 185,000 ang silid aralan na naipatayo sa ilalim ng dating administrasyon.

Nasolusyunan din ang kakulangan sa guro sa pagkuha ng mahigit 258,000 guro mula 2010 hanggang 2016.

Isinulong din ni Luistro ang pagpapaganda ng pasilidad, paglalagay ng internet at ICT at makabagong modules para mapaganda ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa.

Pinangunahan din ni Luistro ang maayos na pagpapatupad ng K to 12 Program, kabilang ang pagsisimula ng unang batch ng Grade 11 noong Hunyo.

Nabawasan din ng halos kalahati ang bilang ng out-of-school youth sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng Abot Alam Program.

Dahil nakita kong epektibo ang nasabing programa, isinumite ko ang Senate Bill No. 172 o ang Abot Alam Bill upang maipatupad ito sa buong bansa.

Kapag naisabatas, tutugon ito sa pangangailangan ng mga kabataang Pinoy na may edad pito hanggang 24 na hindi nag-aaral sa paglikha ng programa na magbibigay ng edukasyon sa bawat Pilipino, lalo na ang out-of-school youth (OSY).

***

Naisip ko na bakit hindi ipinagmamalaki ni Bro. Armin ang kanyang mga nagawa.

Pero naalala ko ang kanyang binanggit noon na ito’y tungkulin natin bilang lingkod-bayan at hindi dapat mag-antay ng anumang kapalit at mga papuri dahil ito’y para sa pangangailangan at kapakanan ng taumbayan.

Maliban pa rito, palagi ko ring naririnig na sinasabi ni Bro. Armin na kahit maraming batikos sa pagganap niya ng tungkulin na makapaglingkod sa kapwa, lalo siyang napapalapit sa Diyos.

Ang tagumpay ni Bro. Armin sa kabila ng mabigat na hamon ay nagbibigay sa akin ng inspirasyon upang pagbutihin pa ang paglilingkod sa taumbayan.

Umaasa tayong marami pang Bro. Armin ang lilitaw at magsisilbi sa pamahalaan.

Article first published on Abante Online

 

Bam: Cha-cha must examine other important aspects of 1987 Constitution

CEBU CITY — Sen. Bam Aquino prefers constitutional convention (con-con) as means to amend the 1987 Constitution, adding the action must be a “genuine process” where other important provisions of the Charter will be thoroughly examined, in addition to federalism.

 “Sang-ayon po ako sa constitutional convention. I’m open to federalism pero kapag binukas kasi natin ang Constitution, hindi lang po iyan puwede for one aspect. Lahat po ng aspeto, kailangang suriin,” said Sen. Bam during a radio interview here.

 He added, “Once we open up the con-con, sana po it goes through a genuine process of assessment kasi 30 years na rin po ang ating Constitution. How do we update our Constitution? Ano ang pinaka-akma na sistema at istruktura sa ating bansa in the 21st century?”

 Sen. Bam believes the Charter’s economic provisions, term limits to local officials, among others already mentioned, need to be revisited, reviewed and updated to be attuned to the present situation.

 “I think ang three-year term ng local officials natin, masyado pong maikli. As we know, most of the reforms na kailangan ng bansa, takes six to ten years,” he explained.

 In the 16th Congress, Sen. Bam said congressmen also tried to introduce amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution but it didn’t take off.

 A constitutional convention is a process where the people elect delegates, who will study proposals to amend or revise the Charter. The amendments drafted by the delegates must be approved by the people in a referendum.

 While he is open to a shift to federal form of government, Sen. Bam said some local officials have recently expressed apprehensions over the move.

 “Pagdating po sa federalism, bukas po tayo diyan pero iyong ibang governors na nakausap ko, marami rin silang tanong,” said Sen. Bam.

 “Another basic question is, how much will it cost? Will this mean new taxes? Will it mean new bureaucracy kasi kung magkaka-regional governments tayo, parang may next layer na naman tayo ng burukrasya,” he added.

 However, Sen. Bam trusts that the upcoming House and Senate leadership will allow the process to move properly.

 “Itong lahat po, pag-uusapan, hihimayin, dadaan sa proseso ng pag-uusap. I’m hoping lang na di po iyan magtagal ng 3 or 4 years. Sana po maybe 1 year o 1 year and a half, tapos na po iyong proseso,” said Sen. Bam.

Scroll to top