Issues

Sen. Bam lauds signing of free internet in public places, his 18th law

Sen. Bam Aquino is delighted with the President’s approval of the Free Internet Access Program in Public Places into law.  

The President on Wednesday signed the measure into law, now known as Republic Act 10929. The law is Sen. Bam’s 18th in his four years as senator and his first in the 17th Congress.  

 “Masaya tayo na isa sa ating naipasang panukala sa Senado ay batas na. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa Pangulo sa kanyang paglagda bilang batas ang maging libre na ang internet sa mga pampublikong lugar,” said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor and co-author of the measure in the Senate in his capacity as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.   

 “This will expand internet access across public spaces in the Philippines, including public schools to aid in teaching methods and enhance learning,” the senator added.  

“There is also a provision for faster permitting for internet infrastructure, which is a key feature in the law to improve infrastructure development,” added Sen. Bam.  

The law provides free internet access in all national and local government offices, public schools, public transport terminals, public hospitals and public libraries.   

 Under the measure, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will be mandated to craft a plan and a timeline for the rollout of this program.  

 Sen. Bam is also hopeful that the President will sign the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, another measure he sponsored and co-authored in the Senate.

Sen. Bam: We will deliver free tuition at all costs

Sen. Bam Aquino said he, along with the other legislators, will continue to fight for the enactment of the measure providing free tuition at all costs.

“If the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act is vetoed, there are alternative actions that the legislature can undertake to ensure that our students still receive the support they need. Congress with a two-thirds vote can reconsider the veto and still pass it into law. Or we can fund this initiative on a year-to-year basis through the GAA,” said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor and co-author of the measure in the Senate.

 “Lastly, we can refile the measure, but this will take time,” added Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam reiterated that Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, has committed to fund free college education, which would need around a minimum of P25 billion. A much smaller amount than theP100 billion as earlier claimed by the economic managers.

 However, Sen. Bam remained hopeful that President Duterte will still sign the bill into law. He added, ‘I hope the President and his economic managers can see this as a sound investment in our future.’

 In the Senate, Sen. Bam maintained that education and free tuition remains a priority. “Hahanapan natin ng paraan upang ibigay natin into para sa pamilyang Pilipino,” said Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam defended the bill in plenary debates and interpellation during his stint as chairman of the Committee on Education.

 He also stood as co-chairman of the Senate delegation to the bicameral conference committee, together with new Committee on Education chairman Sen. Francis Escudero and members Sens. Sherwin Gatchalian and Ralph Recto.  

If passed into law, students will start to enjoy free education in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs) and vocational schools under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) starting the second semester of school year 2017-18. Aside from tuition fees, the government will also shoulder miscellaneous and other fees.  

 Under the law, scholarship grants will also be made available to students of both public and private college and universities. It also provides a loan program, where students can apply for financing for other education expenses.

Sen. Bam still hopeful President Duterte signs free college bill into law

Sen. Bam Aquino is still hopeful that President Duterte will prioritize education by signing the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act into law this week, giving Filipinos free education in state universities and colleges (SUC), local universities and colleges and technical and vocational institutions (TVIs).

 “The administration must prioritize education. Let’s not lose hope that we will invest in the future of our youth and their families,” said Sen. Bam, who pushed for the measure’s passage in the Senate as principal sponsor and co-author.

 “This is a policy that everyone in the Senate supported, regardless of political party. Inaasahan rin ito ng 1.6M estudyante sa SUCs, pati  ng kanilang pamilya. So I am still hoping this will become law,” added Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam was expecting President Duterte to announce the signing of the measure into law as highlight of his State of the Nation Address (SONA) but no mention came during the Chief Executive’s two-hour speech.

 There is also talk removing free tuition in SUCs from next year’s national budget.

“Kung prayoridad ito ng gobyerno, popondohan ito sa national budget. Ang importante ay pirmahan na at gawing batas ang libreng kolehiyo,” affirmed Sen. Bam.

 As former chairman of the Committee on Education, Sen. Bam defended the bill in plenary debates and interpellation. He also stood as co-chairman of the Senate delegation to the bicameral conference committee, together with new Committee on Education chairman Sen. Francis Escudero and members Sens. Sherwin Gatchalian and Ralph Recto.

 If passed into law, students will start to enjoy free education in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs) and vocational schools under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) starting the second semester of school year 2017-18. Aside from tuition fees, the government will also shoulder miscellaneous and other fees.

 Under the law, scholarship grants will also be made available to students of both public and private college and universities. It also provides a loan program, where students can apply for financing for other education expenses.

Sen. Bam on the 8th death anniversary of former President Cory Aquino

We remember Tita Cory today as we commemorate her 8th death anniversary. 
 
She is often referred to as the Mother of our Democracy, but to me, she was primarily a loving, thoughtful, humble and gracious aunt. She inspired a generation to continue the work of safeguarding our freedom and improving the lives of our countrymen. 
 
She said, “I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen.”
 
She reminds us, to this day, that it is up to all of us, together, to move this country forward and create a better Philippines. 
 
Salamat, Tita Cory!

Sen. Bam: Stop enabling smugglers and inconveniencing OFWs

Sen. Bam Aquino chided the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for making it easy for big-time smugglers to bring in contrabands into the country while burdening overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with strict requirements in the entry of Balikbayan boxes.

 “Habang pinapahirapan ang mga OFWs na magpadala ng gamit sa kanilang mahal sa buhay, labas-masok naman ang kontrabando sa Super Green Lane (SGL),” said Sen. Bam, referring to the P6.4 billion shabu shipment what was allowed to pass through the Super Green Lanes (SGL).

 To help prevent port congestion, Super Green Lanes were put in place to allow fast tracking of shipments based on the discretion of the BOC.

 “Ito ba ang direksiyon ng BOC para maresolba ang problema sa smuggling? Pahirapan ang mga OFWs at palagpasin ang mga big time smugglers?” asked Sen. Bam, adding that the intention of SGL to facilitate transaction with exporters and importers was put in a bad light due to this incident.

“Ilan pa kayang kontrabando at droga ang nakakalusot sa mga Super Green Lanes natin?” questioned Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam further criticized the BOC’s new rules on how overseas Filipino can send home a balikbayan box, including the pasting on the box a detailed list of contents and putting the receipts of items purchased inside.

“They leave the country to provide for their family and they keep our economy afloat. The government should allow them their privileges. They do not deserve the additional hassles and harassment,” said Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam was the co-author of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016, which allows OFWs to send up to three P150,000-worth of tax and duty free balikbayan boxes in a year, given that goods are not in commercial quantities nor intended for barter, sale or for hire.

 The senator also pushed for the increase in the value of de minimis from P10 to P10,000 through his Senate Bill No. 2373.

 

Sen. Bam to look into AI threat to jobs for Filipinos

Sen. Bam Aquino is set to conduct a hearing into the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) to jobs in the country.
 
“Every job created for Filipinos is important. We have to guard against trends that will take jobs away from our countrymen,” said Sen. Bam, who will conduct the probe on Tuesday (August 1) as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology. 
 
“Gusto nating malaman kung ano ang epekto ng artificial intelligence sa employment, lalo na sa ating business process outsourcing (BPO) o call center sector,” added Sen. Bam.
 
Sen. Bam filed Senate Resolution No. 344, to conduct an inquiry on the government’s plan and initiatives to maximize the benefits of developments in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
 
The senator expressed alarm over the growing presence of Chatbots and the emergence of systems capable of referring questions to human operators and learning from their responses.
 
“These systems use artificial intelligence and are capable of performing the tasks of human employees, putting their livelihood at risk, especially in the call center industry,” said Sen. Bam.
 
In 2016, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that 49 percent of all employment in the Philippines faces a high risk of automation in the next couple of decades.
 
Based on research conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), around $47 billion will be spent on AI-related applications globally by 2020, especially in banking, healthcare and retail sectors.
 
According to Jubert Daniel Alberto of IDC Philippines, the rise of AI will definitely affect the BPO industry that currently employs around 1.2 million Filipinos.

Sen. Bam wishes TNC Pro, Execration ‘good luck’ in The International DOTA 2 Championships

Sen. Bam Aquino joined the training of the Filipino DOTA team TNC Pro before it travels to Seattle, Washington Sunday to participate in The International DOTA 2 Championships, the biggest esports event in the world.

“It’s not every day that you get to play with the best in the world so it was a big honor that I was allowed to join their practice before they travel to Seattle tomorrow (Sunday),” said Sen. Bam, who joined TNC Pro’s practice session when he visited the group’s DOTA Gaming House.

After placing in the eighth among 18 teams in last year’s edition of the tournament, Sen. Bam believes that the team can do even better this year. The members of TNC Pro are Theeban “1437” Siva, Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Sam “Samh” Hidalgo, Marco Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and Timothy John “Tims” Randrup.

“These gentlemen play with a lot of skill and talent, and they also play with a lot of Pinoy pride,” said Sen. Bam, who also wished Team Execration, the other Filipino team in the tournament, the best of luck.

Sen. Bam provided help in the travel of TNC Pro, the winner in the Southeast Asian qualifying event while Execration placed third behind Fnatic.

The two Filipino squads will battle it out against the best of Europe (Team Secret, HellRaisers and Team Empire), China (iG Vitality, LGD.Forever Young and LGD Gaming), North America (Cloud9 and Digital Chaos), South America (Infamous) and direct invites OG, Virtus.Pro, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, Invictus Gaming and Newbee. The tournament offers a total purse of $22,810,242.

Sen. Bam is a supporter of Filipino esports athletes and game development in the Philippines for its huge potential in bringing honor to the country and creating jobs and livelihood for Filipinos.

The senator helped establish Philippine esports Association (PeSPA) to strengthen the foundation of esports in the country, look after the welfare of cyber athletes and stakeholders and promote esports in the country.

Sen. Bam pushes for passage of FSL measure, lauds SONA sign-language interpreters

Sen. Bam Aquino lauded the sign language interpreters for making President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) accessible to our deaf countrymen even as he pushed for the passage of Senate Bill No. 966 or the Filipino Sign Language Act.

“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa sign language interpreters sa SONA sa kanilang pagsisikap na maihatid ang mensahe ng ating Pangulo sa ating mga kababayang bingi,” said Sen. Bam, author of Senate Bill No. 966.

“Maraming humanga sa mga interpreters sa mahigit na dalawang oras na SONA ng Pangulo,” added the senator, “We hope this also translates to a better appreciation of Filipino sign language.”

The measure seeks to declare Filipino Sign Language (FSL) as the national sign language of the Filipino Deaf and the official language of the Philippine government in all transactions with the Deaf. In addition, the measure also mandates the use of FSL in schools, workplaces, and broadcast media.

In his four years as lawmaker, Sen. Bam has tirelessly worked for the welfare of persons with disabilities (PWDs) by pushing the passage of Republic Act 10754, which exempts PWDs from paying value added tax (VAT), in the 16th Congress as co-author.

He also worked for the passage of Republic Act 10905 or the Closed Caption Law as co-author. It requires television networks to use the closed captioning system for news and current affairs programs and entertainment shows for the benefit of viewers with hearing impairment.

In the 17th Congress, Sen. Bam filed Senate Bill No. 967 requiring Filipino Sign Language insets for local news programs. He also filed Senate Bill No. 1249 seeking to mandate government offices and private companies to allocate a percentage of their workforce for PWDs.

Under the bill, which seeks to amend Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, government agencies are mandated to ensure that two percent of their employees comprise of PWDs. Private organizations, for their part, will be required to employ one percent of their workforce from PWDs.

“This bill seeks to guarantee the inclusion of PWDs in the workforce and provide commensurate compensation, benefits and employment terms for PWDs as any other qualified employee,” Sen. Bam said.

Sen. Bam: Senate’s duty to ensure that Tax Reform Package does not raise prices of goods

Sen. Bam Aquino expressed support behind the Senate leadership’s plan to convene as a committee of the whole to discuss the tax reform package being pushed by the Duterte administration.

“There are a number of concerns that need to be addressed with the current version of the tax reform package,” said Sen. Bam, vice chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, ““I will support the move of our Senate leadership.”

The senator said that the committee of the whole can give senators a venue to raise these concerns.

Earlier, President Duterte asked Senate to pass the government’s tax reform package in its entirety during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

However, Sen. Bam said the Senate owes it to the people to go over the measure with a ‘fine-toothed comb” to determine the impact of each provision to prices of commodities, jobs and other economic issues.

“Ang pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin ay seryosong bagay at nararapat lang na gawin ng Senado ang aming tungkulin bilang kinatawan ng taumbayan na suriin ang mga panukalang ito,” said Sen. Bam.

“Interesado ako sa mga probisyon na posibleng makapagtaas sa presyo ng bilihin tulad ng bigas. We don’t want our people to suffer from higher prices of commodities,” he added.

Sen. Bam also promised to scrutinize provisions that will affect employment of Filipinos, such as business process outsourcing or call centers, and the competitiveness of industries and the agriculture sector such as the sugar industry.

“Some farmers groups have already raised concerns on excise tax on sugar and sweetened beverages because it will affect their livelihood,” said Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam also wants to determine the economic impact of each provision of the tax reform package and not just the projected amount of tax that will be collected from it.

As part of his efforts to reduce personal income tax rate, Sen. Bam has filed Senate Bill No. 697 that seeks to revise the current income tax bracket set by the National Internal Revenue Code, which was passed in 1997.

The measure seeks to amend Section 24 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, by adjusting the levels of net taxable income and simplifying the nominal tax rates for the purposes of computing the individual income tax.

Sen. Bam is also pushing to lower taxes for small business through Senate Bill No. 169 or the Small Business Tax Reform Act.

Reinstatement of scalawags points to favoritism in DOJ, PNP

The return of Supt. Marvin Marcos and his men to service sends a bad signal to the public that anyone can get away with any wrongdoing, including murder, as long as they have close ties with high officials of the country, according to Sen. Bam Aquino.

“What signal does this send? Kapag gumawa ka ng mali, as long as okay ka sa taas, ibabalik ka sa puwesto. That’s the signal being sent to the public,” said Sen. Bam during the hearing of the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs on the downgrading of the murder case against Marcos and his men and their subsequent return to service.

According to Sen. Bam, the downgrading of the case against Marcos and company by Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Reynante Orceo came as a shock.

“The NBI report, the PNP-IAS report, the Senate report, the analysis of the medico-legal, and the original DOJ Panel Report – all point to murder. Bakit binaba to homicide? Bakit may reinstatement?” Sen. Bam asked DOJ Usec. Orceo and PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

 For their part, the NBI represented by Director Dante Gierran and the DOJ panel of prosecutors represented by Sr. Asst. State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo, reaffirmed their conclusions in their reports, that the Espinosa slay was clearly premeditated and that murder charges should be filed against suspected members of the PNP.

 “We were shocked on the news of the downgrade, pero mas shocking iyong reinstatement,” added the senator, who also questioned the PNP chief on why he did not put Marcos and other police personnel involved on floating status or in the office instead of bringing them back to the field.

“Thanks to the downgrade to homicide, these murder suspects are out on bail and are back on the field.  Why are we risking the credibility of the police force for these individuals?” questioned Sen. Bam.

 

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