Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Thursday, May 25 renewed his call for the government to pursue economic development through a stronger public-private partnership program and make the country more competitive globally.
Angara said he believes a stronger public-private collaboration would also ensure the success of the government’s strategy to pursue its “Tatak Pinoy”
initiatives primarily aimed at promoting the country’s own products in the global market.
The senator earlier filed Senate Bill No. 2218 or the proposed “Tatak Pinoy Act” which requires government agencies to collaborate with the private sector to ensure that all strategies and interventions introduced would be focused on the expansion and diversification of the productive capabilities of local or Filipino enterprises.
“We dubbed this advocacy Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Filipino because we believe that the results it seeks to achieve—namely world-beating Filipino enterprises selling globally competitive products and services to the rest of the world—are things that the country as a whole can and should be proud of,” Angara said in filing the bill.
State economic managers have said the country aims to achieve the goal of hitting a growth rate of 6.5 to 8 percent from 2024 to 2028 as contained in the Philippine Development Plan and sustain this in the succeeding years.
Angara said SB No. 2218 provides a roadmap in carrying out this objective. The Senate Committee on Finance will hold its first hearing on the bill on Monday, May 30.
The bill, he said, mandates the formulation, financing, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of a comprehensive and multi-year Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) strategy.
Following his consultations with industry representatives, the chairman of the Senate finance panel said he has introduced several initiatives in the national budget to respond to the requirements of the private sector and to support the development of local industries as a whole.
“If Filipinos have the ability to produce various parts of products such as airplanes and cars, why don't we try to produce our own vehicles that can be exported and create more quality work here in the country? This is the goal of what we are promoting as Tatak Pinoy," the senator pointed out.
Once enacted into law, the “Tatak Pinoy” Council—headed by the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary as Chair and the Secretaries of Trade and Industry and Finance as vice-Chairs—would be tasked to formulate, finance, implement and evaluate all “Tatak Pinoy” strategy.
The TPS will be organized based on manpower, infrastructure, technology and innovation, investments, and public fiscal management and government procurement.
“The data shows that countries that are able to produce and trade a diverse array of complex and uncommon products are more competitive and prosperous compared to those that are limited to simple and ubiquitous goods,” he said.
“By aiming to be competent in producing and offering complex or sophisticated products and services, a country empowers itself to branch out into other forms of complex production and economic activity, thereby jumpstarting a virtuous cycle where high-paying, good jobs are generated,” Angara stressed.
“Our goal is to make Philippine-made products and services known around the world as top notch, innovative and distinct. It is important to ensure that the time will come when more of our creations can be said to be truly proudly made in the Philippines," he added.