Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV spent his first two days as senator in Zamboanga del Norte, one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines, as part of a series of stakeholder consultations on his proposed inclusive growth policy agenda.

Part of the lawmaker’s itinerary in Zamboanga del Norte included a meeting with local business groups, where they discussed pressing needs such as power and water supplies, among others; a meeting with Dipolog City LGU; and the 100^th Adlaw sa Dipolog celebrations.

According to Aquino, he began his term with local consultations to ensure that legislation he will file will be “people-centered and stakeholder-driven.”

“We want to aggressively pursue an inclusive growth policy agenda, to help the national government fulfill its commitment to end poverty. This is why we decided to begin our term by visiting one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. We want to hear out their concerns and see how the LGUs and the national government can work together to solve poverty.”

Aquino ran on a campaign of education, employment and enterprise support in order to promote inclusive growth and end poverty. Prior to being elected into the Senate, Aquino headed a social enterprise that helped boost the incomes of poor women and families through micro-enterprise development.