According to news reports, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading two tax bills: House Bill (HB) No. 4814 proposing an estate tax amnesty, and HB 4815 which calls for a single lower estate tax rate. Our congressmen unanimously passed the bills. HB 4814 garnered a vote of 216-0-0, while HB 4815 received a vote of 219-0-0.
For former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo, teachers should not stop learning after they graduate from college. The Arroyos have proposed the creation of national teacher academies all over the country to train teachers how to teach subjects areas such as math, science and history, which are commonly taught in elementary and secondary schools. House Bill 3042, also known as the Teaching Profession Act of 2013, mandates the establishment of national teacher academies by qualified recipients which have been awarded grants by the Department of Education on the basis of a competitive bidding process. Each grant authorizes a five-year operation of the national teacher academy, renewable after the period. Higher education institutions, a private non-profit educational organization or a combination of these two will be eligible to apply for the grants. The academies will hone teachers’ skills in subject areas such as basic skills and literacy instruction, civics and government, national writing project, mathematics, foreign languages, history, geography and sociology, economics, life sciences, physical sciences, and the arts, including art, music and the performing arts. Under the proposal, academy staff should be selected from the most accomplished and prominent scholars in the relevant fields of study and in the methodologies. In the bill’s explanatory note, the Arroyos said that teachers in the Philippines have become demoralized in recent years due to the decline in the quality of the teaching profession. “The government must not only toil to address Read More …
As the midterm election draws near, the call to vote for the most deserving candidates becomes stronger. We need people who can help us sustain the positive economic climate that we are having. We know that the backbone of our economy is the MSMEs, but aside from their innate entrepreneurial mindset, they will need a legislator who can push for laws that will make success easier for them to attain. I came across Sonny Angara during our Technopreneur summit last January, and I really find his track record quite impressive. As he runs for a higher position this coming elections, I asked him what is in store for the micro, small, and medium negosyantes should he get elected. Let me share with you his answers. Entrepreneurship creates jobs. Do you think this is a very good alternative to the OFW phenomenon? Yes, definitely. The main reason why our OFWs have to go to other countries is to look for jobs that they cannot find here. Thus, if we can create the needed jobs through successful business ventures, there will be no necessity for our OFWs to seek employment abroad. Having more entrepreneurs that employ our workforce would mean lesser Filipinos having to leave the country and their families. What are your platforms to support job generation through entrepreneurship? To generate decent jobs, I have been pushing for economic and investment policies that promote growth and development of the economy since I became a legislator. To date, I have principally authored Read More …