Issues

Bam: Tax exemption for PWDs and Families with Dependents

Senator Bam Aquino has filed the Amendments to the Magna Carta of PWDs, which provides PWDs and families with PWD dependents a yearly uniform P25,000 tax exemption, giving them a reprieve from the daily challenges they face.

In addition, PWDs will be exempted from value added tax, in addition to their regular personal deductions if the measure is enacted into law.

“The exemption will help augment PWDs and families with PWD dependents from their expenses, from wheelchairs, hearing aids, nurses and caregivers, and learning disability tutors, among others,” added Sen. Bam.

Explaining his bill, Sen. Bam said the PWDs have found it difficult to find employment and earn income for themselves and for their families.

Aside from this, they have also had to worry about their daily expenses for medicine and rehabilitation.

“Such accommodation for our PWD sector is part of our larger reform efforts in pushing for a society that is inclusive for the poor and most vulnerable sectors.  It is one of our courses in our journey towards achieving a fully abled nation,” the senator explained.

In his measure, Sen. Bam also hailed the contribution of the PWDs in shaping the country’s history and to the advancement of good governance.

Bam: Postpone Penalties under BIR’s eFPS, eBIR Systems

Senator Bam Aquino calls on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to defer the imposition of penalties on taxpayers covered by the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) or Electronic BIR Forms (eBIRForms) who failed to file tax returns under the electronic systems.

In his letter, Sen. Bam requested BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares to suspend imposition of penalties under Revenue Regulation No. 5-2015 until next year to give taxpayers ample time to become acquainted with the agency’s online facilities.

The BIR issued the regulation on March 15, 2015 and it was published in a national daily two days later.

“We are concerned with the short timeframe of less than a month given to taxpayers to transition to the new systems, given that the deadline for filing of income tax returns is on 15 April 2015 already,” Sen. Bam said in his letter.

Sen. Bam made the move after receiving several complaints from private sector partners regarding RR No. 5-2015.

Under RR No. 5-2015, all taxpayers mandatorily covered to file their returns using eFPS or eBIRForms, who fail to do so, shall be imposed a penalty of P1,000 per return pursuant to Section 250 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended.

In addition, the taxpayer shall also be imposed civil penalties equivalent to 25 percent of tax due to be paid, for filing a return in a manner not in compliance with existing regulations.

Moreover, Revenue District Offices are directed to include the non-compliant taxpayers in their priority audit program.

At the same time, Sen. Bam lauded the BIR for its effort to develop and institute a paperless tax filing and payment process through the eBIR and eFPS facilities.

“We believe that this will improve the Bureau’s tax return monitoring and make it easier for taxpayers to prepare, file and pay their tax returns,” Sen. Bam said.

Bam to BI, POEA: Explain Offloading of Cyber Athletes

Senator Bam Aquino wants the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to explain why they barred three Filipino cyber athletes from leaving for South Korea where they were slated to train and join several international competitions.

 

Team Rave’s Mark “Cast” Pilar, Djardel “Chrissy” Mampusti and Ryo “ryOyr” Hasegawa were barred from leaving due to alleged lack of proper travel documents.

 

“They have traveled several times to South Korea using the same documents they presented in the past without any hitch. Suddenly, they were barred from leaving without any valid reason,” Sen. Bam stressed.

 

“Worse, the offloading happened during a crucial time where they were scheduled to train for several big international competitions,” Sen. Bam added.

 

Sen. Bam said the offloading cost these cyber atheles a chance to join two events in Bucharest and to train for other upcoming competitions.

 

Team Rave recently placed sixth and bagged $150,000 in the recent DOTA 2 Asian Championships.

 

“Government should be able to provide an environment where our athletes, online or offline, be able to hone their skills, compete in world class competitions, and give honor and pride to our country,” Sen. Bam pointed out.

 

The office of Sen. Bam has been extending assistance to Team Rave as support for the growth of the community and development of the e-industry in the country.

 

“We will continue helping them in any way we can because we believe in their potential in bringing honor to our country,” Sen. Bam said.

 

Bam: Bamboo Business Booming But…

Private bamboo stakeholders lamented that lack of supply may prevent the country from grabbing a lion’s share of the growing global market.
 
This was revealed during the Senate hearing on the status of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap conducted by the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship headed by Senator Bam Aquino.
 
According to different private bamboo furniture makers, there is high demand for their products but cannot keep up due to lack of supply.
 
Even the Department of Education (DepEd) said it cannot meet its mandate of sourcing 20 percent of their furniture needs such as desk, tables and chairs from bamboo furniture makers due to lack of suppliers.
 
During the hearing, stakeholders have pointed to the government’s lack of coordinated action in ensuring a steady supply of bamboo poles.
 
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that the country has around 50,572 hectares of bamboo forest.
 
However, it is not enough to cover the market’s monthly demand of eight million bamboo poles.
 
Under the National Greening Program, the government has allotted just one percent of the country’s 1.5 million hectares of forest as areas for bamboo planting.
 
For 2015, the DENR is targeting 3,086 hectares of bamboo plantation.
 
In line with this, Sen. Bam called on concerned government agencies and the private sector to align their plans and programs to properly address the supply dilemma the industry currently faces.
 
Sen. Bam said the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PDIBC), headed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), must take the lead in addressing the supply issue via a technical working group (TWG).
 
According to Sen. Bam, Executive Order 879 mandates the PBDIC to provide overall policy and program directions for all stakeholders in the bamboo industry.
 
The EO also tasked the government to reforest at least 500,000 hectares with bamboo as contribution to the ASEAN commitment of 20 million hectares of new forest by 2020.
 
“Why aren’t we hitting the target number of bamboo poles needed by the manufacturers,” asked Sen. Bam, adding that the DTI must clarify the roles of the concerned government agencies and other stakeholders under the EO.
 
“That will be a lost opportunity of income and livelihood for communities and for the economy,” Sen. Bam stressed.
 
“I would like to be able to address those concerns with recommendations coming from the PBIDC, upon consultation with all of the concerned individuals and institutions,” Sen. Bam added.
 
Sen. Bam is pushing for a clear bamboo industry roadmap as he sees the industry as another vehicle for the government’s inclusive growth program.
 
“If we have more communities planting bamboo and there are ready markets left and right to purchase these, that would be a waste if we don’t supply them,” said Sen. Bam.

Bam on the Committee Report regarding the Mamasapano Hearings

I have signed the committee report with reservations and with an intention to propose amendments.

As much as we agree with majority of observations found in the committee report on the Mamasapano incident including the President’s responsibility which he himself stated in a public address last month, we feel that there were conclusions made on matters that were beyond the scope of the hearing.

Primarily, these include conclusions made regarding the peace process, the actions of the Government Peace Panel and regarding the Bangsamoro Basic Law in general.

We have sent a letter to the committee seeking clarification on these matters. And if need be, we will propose amendments to the committee report when it is tackled on the floor.

Bam on the Displaced Families in Maguindanao

We urge the government to ensure the safety of the around 24,714 families or 124,000 people who were displaced by the government’s military operation against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao.

Their needs must be immediately addressed, including temporary shelter, food, water, clothing, alternative livelihood, among other needs.

The government must zero in on the welfare of the children, who are the most affected and vulnerable during armed conflict, by providing them milk, medicine, psycho-social intervention and others.

Their prolonged displacement has had a profound impact on their sense of security, physical and emotional well-being, long-term health and nutrition, and access to education.

The government must work to return to normalcy the lives of those displaced at the soonest possible time.

Bam: Make Final Push for 18-percent Poverty Incidence Rate

Senator Bam Aquino encouraged concerned government agencies to make a strong final push to reach the government poverty incidence target of 18 percent in 2016.

 

“Let’s put the right enterprise programs and really give it a strong final push for this administration that will uplift our poor Filipinos,” said Sen. Bam during the hearing of the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development on the Magna Carta of the Poor bills.

 

At present, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman said the country’s poverty incidence rate is 25.8 percent or about 25.8 million Filipinos.

 

Sen. Bam also stressed the need to consolidate, rationalize and coordinate the livelihood programs of different government agencies to effectively address the country’s poverty incidence.

 

In addition, Sen. Bam also encouraged DSWD to look at enterprise development as the next logical step for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or the 4Ps.

 

“A lot of study shows that there is a need to have government interventions at different points of enterprise development to enable poor Filipinos to get out of poverty,” Sen. Bam said.

 

During the hearing, the DSWD, the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Department of Finance expressed support for the passage of Sen. Bam’s Senate Bill No. 2370 or the Magna Carta of the Poor Act.

 

“We should consolidate all livelihood programs and align them according to the needs of the beneficiaries,” Sen. Bam encouraged the agencies.

 

“Interventions need not be financial alone, we can help them through product design and development, financial management and marketing training, or market linkage,” explained Sen. Bam, a former social entrepreneur.

(Photo from globalbalita.com)

Bam on the Onion Cartels

The government must immediately look into reports that cartels and several unscrupulous traders are conniving to manipulate the supply of onions in the market, to the detriment of our local farmers, especially in the countryside.

With the alleged cartel maneuvering and the onset of the onion harvest season, we expect a significant drop in prices of onion, to the disadvantage of our farmers. 

We need to act now to safeguard our onion farmers, who would be robbed of their livelihood and income.

If proven true, those behind these cartels must be brought to justice and severely punished.

Senate Bill No. 1832: Microfinance Code of the Philippines

In all parts of the country, microenterprises comprise the bulk of business enterprises in the country. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) estimates that, as of 2011, at least 99.6% of all businesses in the Philippines were classified as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), while the remaining 0.4% were large enterprises. Of the total number of MSMEs, at least 91.0% were micro enterprises, with asset sizes not greater than Three Million Pesos (P3 million) and with up to 10 employees.

At their very core, micro enterprises enable poor families to undertake entrepreneurial activities to meet their minimum basic needs, including income generation. However, one major barrier for micro entrepreneurs is their lack of access to credit or capital. One way for them to access such funding is through micro finance.

“Microfinance”, as defined in this bill, “refers to the viable and sustainable provision of a broad range of financial services to poor/unbanked/financially underserved/low-income households engaged in livelihood and microenterprise activities. It uses nontraditional and innovative methodologies and approaches such as, but not limited to, the extension of small loans, simplified loan application procedures, group character loans, collateral-free arrangements, cash flow based lending, alternative loan repayments, minimum requirements for CBU/minimum balance retention, and small denominated savers’ instruments-aimed to improve their asset base and expand their access to capital and savings.”

However, the microfinance sector has yet to be acknowledged by government as an integral partner in poverty alleviation. Moreover, the unique structure and purpose of microfinance institutions (MFls) have yet to be recognized as different from those of purely commercial enterprises.

Therefore, we are proposing the Microfinance Code of the Philippines to develop the microfinance sector in the country. This measure seeks to define the rights and responsibilities, institute performance management and standards, and provide an accreditation process for MFls. It also seeks to provide an enabling policy environment for MFls through appropriate incentives and support. Finally, this measure will promote a social reform strategy that will empower the poor, aid them in managing financial risks, and, in doing so, expand access to micro finance services, such as: microcredit, microsavings, health care, and others. This Act also opens up access to a broad range of financial, business, and other human development services. The ultimate goal of the Microfinance Code of the Philippines is to lift people out of poverty and enable them to live more productive, self-sufficient lives.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

 

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Bam’ s Statement on the 40th Day of the SAF 44

We join the country in remembering the heroism and courage of the Fallen 44 as we commemorate the 40th day of their untimely passing.

Let us not put the sacrifice of the Fallen 44 in vain by ensuring that justice will be served and putting perpetrators behind bars.

While we seek justice and accountability for the victims and their families, we must also work for lasting peace in Mindanao through the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

I call on everyone to join the dialogue as we try to improve the BBL and make it stronger and more effective in providing lasting peace in the region.

Now more than ever, this is the time for us to unite as one people and one nation as we work for healing and lasting peace.

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