The House plenary. (Speaker’s office)

The proposed "Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act", which aims to bring to the fore Filipino-made products and services, has now been approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives. 

Unanimously passed with 251 votes during plenary session Tuesday, Dec. 12 was House Bill (HB) No.8525. 

"The Tatak Pinoy Act is a crucial step toward transforming our economy by encouraging collaboration with the private sector and enhancing the competitiveness of local enterprises," House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong chamber, said in a statement after the bill's passage. 

The House ratified the measure during plenary session Wednesday night, Dec. 13. 

Romualdez, one of the principal authors of HB No.8525, emphasized the legislation's importance in propelling industrialization and full employment goals. He says this is in line with the country's economic vision. 

"We focus strongly on our Filipino workers' skills, creativity, and innovation. This legislation aims to support local enterprises and ensure inclusive economic growth that reaches all corners of our nation, benefiting the urban poor, subsistence farmers, indigenous communities, and our micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)." 

The bill outlines a comprehensive strategy, setting the stage for formulating, financing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the Tatak Pinoy Strategy (TPS). 

The initiative encourages the production of diverse, sophisticated, and high-quality Philippine-made products by local enterprises that can compete globally. 

Emphasizing the importance of industrialization and full employment, the bill declares policies to transform the Philippine economy. 

It underscores collaboration with the private sector, continuous improvement of local enterprises, market-driven initiatives, and the identification of strategic business sectors. 

The Tatak Pinoy Bill strongly focuses on promoting Filipino workers' skills, creativity, and innovation. 

It also addresses inclusive economic growth by ensuring that support for local enterprises is spread across different regions and directed towards disadvantaged sectors, including the underprivileged sector, subsistence farmers, indigenous communities, and MSMEs. 

Key provisions of the bill include establishing the Tatak Pilipino Council (TPC) and formulating a multi-year strategy, which covers a six-year period with mid-term updates every three years, identifying national priorities, strategic goals, and specific sectors for development. 

The TPS is organized into five pillars: workforce, infrastructure, technology and innovation, investments, and public fiscal management and government procurement. 

Each pillar involves collaboration between government agencies, private sector representatives, and the TPC to achieve the objectives laid out in the bill. 

To ensure effective implementation, the bill mandates an automatic annual review of the TPS by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). 

The TPC will be led by the director general of the NEDA as chairperson, with the secretaries of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Agriculture (DA) as vice chairpersons. 

With a tripartite partnership, the TPC will play a crucial role as the policy and advisory body to the President, formulating policies and programs to diversify the capabilities of local enterprises. 

It will coordinate with various government agencies to harmonize development plans and ensure the successful implementation of the TPS. 

The bill also underscores the importance of information dissemination and awareness campaigns, both nationally and internationally, to garner broad support for the TPS.