Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Monday, February 26 hailed the enactment into law of the “Tatak Pinoy Act” saying this would be a giant leap for the Philippines’ aspiration to be an industrialized country.

Early this morning, President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 11981 or the Proudly Filipino Act which would pave the way for the creation of a Tatak Pinoy Council that would be tasked to formulate policies and programs that will diversify the productive capabilities of local Filipino enterprises and boost the country's economic potentials.

Angara, principal author of RA No. 11981, further said the newly-enacted law will help stabilize the country’s economy through stronger coordination between the government and private sector.

“Sa pamamagitan ng Tatak Pinoy ay malaman natin ang mga kailangan ng mga negosyante upang mapalakas ang kanilang mga operasyon at kung paano makakatulong ang gobyerno para makamit nila ang hangarin na ito (Through Tatak Pinoy we can learn what businessmen need to boost their operations and how the government can help them achieve this goal),” Angara said in a statement.

Under the law, Angara said local industries, big and small, will receive government support for the expansion and upgrading of their operations to make them more competitive in both the global and domestic markets.

The government would also help them innovate in order to produce higher value products that are sought after by bigger markets, as one of the primary goals in promoting the Philippine brand is also to increase the income of Filipinos in their own country.

“Habang lumalaki ang kita ng mga negosyo ay umuunlad din ang ating ekonomiya at dahil dito ay inaaasahan natin na mas gaganda din ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan (As the income of businesses grows, our economy also develops and because of this we expect that the lives of our compatriots will also improve),” Angara said.

Also under the Tatak Pinoy Act, the lawmaker said there will be targeted interventions aimed at specific industries and sectors that have the potential for further growth or expansion.

A Tatak Pinoy Strategy will be formulated that will serve as the roadmap for the national government agencies, the local government units and the private sector in attaining the goals set forth in the law.

Likewise, the Council is mandated to come up with a strategy that will start from educating and equipping students with the knowledge and skills that would cater to the requirements of employers.

It would also be tasked to formulate innovation and technology transfer to allow businesses to come up with more sophisticated and higher value goods and services; and making strategic investments to address the gaps and strengthen the foundation of all industries and its workforce.

“We thank President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for sharing our vision on Tatak Pinoy and supporting this measure. Tatak Pinoy will complement and help attain the goals set forth in the Philippine Development Plan,” Angara said.