Senator Bam Aquino once again proved his willingness and ability to pass significant reforms, even after his removal as chairman of the education committee and confinement into the minority bloc.
“Kahit tayo’y nasa minorya at oposisyon, hindi ito hadlang para magtrabaho para sa ikabubuti ng bansa at ng lahat ng Pilipino,” said Sen. Bam.
Hard at work as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, measures to support scientists and researchers are now closer to becoming law.
One is the Balik-Scientist Act, with the bicameral conference committee report now ratified by both Houses of Congress and waiting to be transmitted to Malacanang for President Duterte’s approval.
Another is Senate Bill No. 1534, which seeks to amend Republic Act 8439 or the Magna Carta for Scientists to give scientists commensurate benefits.
The measure has been approved by the Senate on third and final reading and will be tackled by the bicameral conference committee anytime soon.
The Open Access in Data Transmission Bill was sponsored in the Senate before session adjourned on Wednesday (March 21) while the Innovative Start-up Act is already being tackled in the plenary. Sen. Bam is the principal sponsor of all four measures.
Also, Sen. Bam spearheaded investigations into the National Broadband Plan, the Philippine Rise issue and the “nakaw load” controversy that has affected millions of prepaid mobile phone subscribers.
Sen. Bam also led the passage of Senate Bill No. 1698 or the Reservist Employment Rights Act. The bill was approved by the Senate on third and final reading via a 16-0 vote.
Sen. Bam has 19 laws to his name, the latest being Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which he passed as principal sponsor during his 8-month stint as chairman of the Committee on Education, Culture and Arts.
Sen. Bam Aquino urged government and the private sector to extend support to Filipino scientists and innovators as they can help find solutions to pressing problems like poverty, weak education system and even the drug problem.
“Our scientists, innovators and researchers need all the support they can get from us. Kailangan nila ang ating suporta upang makatulong sila sa pagresolba ng mga problemang kinakaharap ng ating bansa,” said Sen. Bam, chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.
Through the combined efforts of the government and the private sector, Sen. Bam said Filipino scientists and innovators will be inspired to work hard for the country’s development.
Recently, the Senate tackled the three measures sponsored and co-authored by Sen. Bam in the plenary that aim to extend needed assistance to innovative start-ups and benefits to support Filipino scientists and researchers – Innovative Startup Act, Balik Scientist Act and Magna Carta for Scientists.
If enacted into law, innovative startups will enjoy benefits such as tax breaks and grants and other forms of assistance, including a faster process for business registration.
Innovative start-ups could also avail of technical assistance and training programs, free use of equipment, facilities and support for patenting or licensing of their product through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
The Balik Scientist Act and Magna Carta for Scientists both aim to ramp up support to Filipino scientists, engineers and researchers through financial benefits and other incentives.
“We hope the government, the private sector and the public can have a greater appreciation for our scientists and innovators,” said Sen. Bam.
SENATE BILL NO. 1532 UNDER COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 142
AN ACT PROVIDING BENEFITS AND PROGRAMS TO STRENGTHEN, PROMOTE, AND DEVELOP THE
PHILIPPINE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV
17th Congress, Senate of the Philippines
Sponsorship Speech, August 1, 2017
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, good afternoon, magandang hapon po sa ating lahat.
It is my honor and privilege to stand before you today to sponsor Senate Bill No. 1532 under Committee Report No. 142 entitled An Act Providing Benefits and Programs to Strengthen, Promote, and Develop the Philippine Startup Ecosystem.
It is difficult to launch a startup, Mr. President. And it is especially difficult in the Philippines.
I experienced this firsthand when I co-founded two social enterprises- the Hapinoy Program and Rags2Riches (R2R) a couple of years agp, almost a decade ago, Mr. President.
We experienced rejection, running out of capital and changes in our business model. We went through many of the hardships every entrepreneur experiences, which is why I have a very special place in my heart for Filipino startups.
So when I became a legislator, Mr. President, I was determined to push for policies that empower our Filipino SMEs. .
The first law I passed was the Go Negosyo Act and I am happy to report that there are now over 500 Negosyo Centers around the Philippines. We’ve also passed the Youth Entrepreneurship Act and other laws that support the development of our micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs.
But, Mr. President, there is still much more we can do to encourage our start-ups, particularly our innovative and technology startups.
They are businesses that provide unique and relevant solutions to our problems, from daily hassles, like finding a taxi during rush hour, to improving the delivery of healthcare, providing support for our farmers, and addressing unemployment.
And today, Mr. President, I would like to share some of these solutions.
The first is HealthBlocks. HealthBlocks focuses on the issue of complicated and extensive personal healthcare information.
In countries like Australia and England, health records are centralized for better access to accurate health information about patients.
HealthBlocks took this idea and created an application that can facilitate the centralization of health information in the Philippines, around Asia, and anywhere in the world.
Imagine all your health records accessible at the touch of a button and easily and securely given to your doctors, healthcare providers, and even insurance companies.
HealthBlocks will not only improve convenience but will allow for better diagnosis and treatment of patients, Mr. President.
Another startup, Mr. President, is called Cropital. Cropital is attempting to solve the problem of many of our farmers, and this is the lack of access to loans with reasonable terms.
This start-up allows anyone to sign up online and choose a local farming community to invest money in.
They then manage the funds of each farm and ensure that your money goes to the right resources.
After harvest season and the farmer’s produce is sold, the investor gets his returns based on the agreed upon terms with the community.
Through technology and the concept of crowdsourcing, Cropital is able to match our farmers with those with the means to invest, empowering farmers in their agribusiness. Another innovative solution, Mr. President!
My third example, Mr. President, is Virtualahan. Virtualahan is attempting to solve the problem of unemployment.
Virtualahan actually stands for “virtual eskwelahan”, which provides digital skills training for persons with disabilities or PWDs, unemployed youth, and full time parents so they can be hired as virtual assistants for NGOs and social enterprises around the world.
To solve the problem of unemployment, Virtualahan is using to the power of technology and the internet – which is why we must also work to improve the internet services in the country, Mr. President!
But back to our innovative businesses, Mr. President, HealthBlocks, Cropital, Virtualahan are just 3 of over 200,000 start-ups in the Philippines with the potential to solve our country’s problems and contribute to the lives of Filipinos through the products they create and the jobs they generate.
This Innovative Startup Act aims to give these startups a better chance of succeeding by reducing barriers to their success.
This policy seeks to support innovative startups, first, through financial subsidies like tax breaks and grants; second, through ease of doing business through their registration; and third, through technical assistance and training programs.
Plus, there is a provision for an Innovative Startup Venture Fund of 10 billion pesos that startups can apply for.
Through this measure, innovative startups will also be entitled to free use of equipment, facilities, and other services from government agencies, such as testing and fabrication facilities, and services for the patenting or licensing of their product with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
Mr. President, let’s take this opportunity to empower our innovators and entrepreneurs with a heart for nation-building.
Ipasa po natin ang Innovative Startup Act at himukin ang ating mga makabagong negosyante na lumikha ng mga solusyon para sa bayan! Maraming salamat po, Mr. President, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support Senate Bill 1532, under Committee Report No. 142, the Innovative Startup Act. Maraming Salamat, Mr. President.
Senator Bam Aquino sponsored a measure that will give over 200,000 innovative start-up businesses in the country a better chance of succeeding through tax breaks and other forms of assistance, including a P1 billion venture fund where they can apply.
In his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill No. 1532, Sen. Bam lauded innovative start-up businesses for finding solutions to the country’s problems.
“These are startups that provide unique and relevant solutions to our problems, from daily hassles, like finding a taxi during rush hour, to improving the delivery of healthcare, providing support for our farmers, and addressing unemployment,” said Sen. Bam, the principal sponsor and author of the measure as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.
As sponsor of the measure, he said the Innovative Startup Act will reduce barriers that hamper the start-ups’ march to success.
“Let’s take this opportunity to empower our innovators and entrepreneurs with a heart for nation-building. Ipasa po natin ang Innovative Startup Act at himukin ang ating mga makabagong negosyante na lumikha ng mga solusyon para sa bayan,” said Sen. Bam.
Sen. Bam said the measure will provide support innovative startups through financial subsidies like tax breaks and grants and ease of red tape in business registration. Start-ups will also get technical assistance and training programs that can help them flourish
If enacted into law, innovative startups will also benefit from free use of equipment, facilities, and other services from government agencies, such as testing and fabrication facilities. They will also get assistance from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for the patenting or licensing of their product.
As a former social entrepreneur before he joined the Senate, Sen. Bam has been working for the welfare of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups by giving them an environment conducive for growth.
Sen. Bam worked for the passage of Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act to provide access to markets and financing for businesses, training programs, and a simplified business registration process, helping ease of doing business and hastening government processes in putting up a business.
At the 2015 APEC Summit, the world saw a glimpse of Philippine innovation as Aisa Mijeno shared the story of her SALt Lamp, a lamp that is powered by saltwater, suitable for households along the rural coastal villages that have little or no stable access to electricity.
It is vital that we give all such ideas the chance to come to life. Through this bill, Filipinos with excellent startup business ideas will benefit by being given the necessary support—in terms of registration, incentives, subsidies, funding, technical assistance, accreditation and assessment, and a budding pool of talented workers that will aid them in the steep uphill one faces when putting up a business.
This bill aims to put in place the ecosystem necessary to cultivate startups in the Philippines.
By supporting the startup ecosystem from focal points, we ensure that startups have a reasonable chance at success and are given the opportunity to impact society with innovative business and products that can truly help us achieve our imperative of inclusive economic growth.
By creating the ecosystem for startups to operate, we bring more citizens into the fold of inventive and socially conscious entrepreneurship.
In view of the foregoing, the passing of this bill is urgently sought.
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