Speech delivered by Sen. Sonny Angara at the 34th foundation anniversary and Annual Awards Night of Eternal Plans Inc.
President Manuel L. Quezon once said:
“…[I]t is the duty of the State…to promote people’s welfare, assuring to everyone an equal economic opportunity, wholesome living conditions, a chance to work for a decent livelihood, a fair share in the fruits of the country’s material progress, and the enjoyment of a standard of living in accordance with the basic needs of self-respecting intelligent men…”
In many ways, it appears this duty remains unfulfilled. Many throughout the country are overworked and underpaid—if not hungry, sick, poor and jobless.
Taxation
Through the Senate Committee on Ways and Means which I chair, we discovered that because our income taxes have remained unchanged for nearly two decades and that the consumer price index has nearly doubled, many families find themselves overburdened and hard-pressed to make ends meet. Related story on B2-1
To illustrate, a fresh graduate taking on an entry-level BPO (business-process outsourcing) position (i.e., call center) would be taxed at the third highest rate of 25 percent, while a midlevel professional who earns P60,000 a month would be levied the same rate as the owner of the company they work for—Asean’s second highest of 32 percent.
Instead of taking home more from their earnings to jump-start their careers or to benefit their families, many see an inordinate portion of their hard day’s work taken away by the government—most of the time, automatically withheld.
Filipino middle class
With the current scheme, a significant portion of the government’s tax revenues come from wage and
salary earners. This overworked and increasingly thinned-out “middle class” will find a taxation system that is regressive, instead of progressive as mandated by the Constitution.
Hence, they are primarily in our minds while we embark with tax reform, which includes lowering our rates, adjusting our brackets across-the-broad and simplifying administration. It is their take-
home pay that will grow because of the recently enacted law, which I sponsored and authored, that raises the tax-exemption cap for 13th- month pay and other salary benefits from P30,000 to P82,000.
Beyond tax matters, they are also among those angered by revelations of public corruption, for it is their money after all that is allegedly being squandered and their government allegedly squandering it. They would probably leverage a Freedom of Information (FOI) law to exact more transparency and accountability from their leaders—a cause that I have supported ever since my days as a congressman.
They will also invest more in their own country, if the business environment is made more conducive and competitive. For this reason, we have proposed amendments to our Corporation Code, intended to improve corporate governance, better protect the rights of minority shareholders, contribute to the ease of doing business, and to harmonize the code with the current practices at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Aristotle once wrote that the “middle classes” were a moderating force in society. I find that growing and protecting this moderate force has been one of my primary advocacies as a legislator.
Preneed industry
And I believe this is where my interests dovetail with yours, given that throughout the years, you in Eternal Plans Inc. have helped many middle-class Filipinos with securing a good future for themselves.
Indeed, the preneed industry offers a savings mechanism to help Filipinos realize their deepest aspirations—education for their children, health care in times of illness, pension upon retirement and memorial services upon death.
We are all familiar with how the industry has gone through some very tough times. Hence, it was in 2007, that my father, Sen. Ed Angara, and I filed a bill addressing the absence of a legal framework that would closely govern and regulate the preneed industry. This was enacted in late 2009 and became the Pre-Need Code of the Philippines (Republic Act 9829).
Back then, it was our goal to put back stability in the industry and ensure its long-term viability, while giving added protection to planholders.
A key change embodied by the code was the transfer of regulatory jurisdiction from the Security and Exchange Commission to the Insurance Commission (IC), given the latter has the capability and expertise to regulate and supervise the industry.
Another reform was the imposition of a higher capitalization requirement for preneed companies to lessen the risk of instability and ensure that future obligations to planholders will be met.
Need to investigate
Almost four years after the code’s enactment, one of the first things I did as a senator was file in September 2013 a resolution (SRN 237) calling for an investigation into its implementation and to look into how the law has helped the industry.
We filed the resolution amid the troubles of one of your industry colleagues (Prudentialife Plans Inc. or PPI). The imperative for an investigation becomes all the more apparent given that the IC reported in February 2012 that between September 2010 and September 2011, no less than thirty preneed companies were placed under conservatorship. From more than 200 companies before 1997, the industry had whittled down to around 20 by 2013.
Brimming with opportunity
That investigation has yet to take place. But it should soon, especially with our economy on the rise and a burgeoning Filipino middle class looking for a place to park their growing earnings.
Indeed, a return of confidence in public institutions seen in recent years appears to coincide with people’s growing comfort with investing in insurance policies and preneed plans.
No less than IC Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc said that total premium income for 2015 could reach P200 billion. Perhaps, the preneed industry could account for a respectable portion of it.
Soledad Sanchez, an insurance specialist in the Pre-Need Division of the IC, pointed out in 2013 that even bigger opportunities await the industry, due to several factors2:
■ Continued growth of the country’s labor force (averaging 2 percent between 2010 and 2013;
■ Steady increases in enrollment (averaging 3 percent between 2008 and 2013); and
■ Ongoing talk about raising the official retirement age from 60 to 65.
Exemplary commitment
Eternal Plans Inc. appears well-poised to capitalize on these opportunities having provided unwavering customer service for nearly three-and-a-half decades. In an industry in turmoil, you have remained steadfast. You’re one of the few who survived the crisis that hit the
preneed industry.
Based on July 2014 IC data, there only remain 14 licensed preneed companies. This is less than 10 percent of an industry that used to have more than 200 players. Obviously, this says a lot about your company and the dedication and industry of your human resources, most especially your sales force.
More important, you toughed it out when tuition were deregulated in the early 1990s. Many firms collapsed on the heels of the policy change and were unwilling or unable to meet their obligation to planholders.
Here, there was no big government bailout of big banks, unlike in the US during the 2008 recession. But through thick or thin, Eternal Plans kept its covenants and in a sense kept faith with its planholders. This secured the futures of many young individuals, whose lives are now undoubtedly better because of their education. For this feat alone, not only should you be congratulated—you should be thanked.
Hence, tonight’s theme of “commitment” very much applies—so exemplified by the outstanding performance of the people slated to be awarded tonight.
It is also personified by your founder, Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua, who through his hard work and tenacity, lifted himself up from the slums to the boardrooms of Philippines Graphic, DWIZ, the BusinessMirror, Fortune Insurance, CityState Savings Bank and, of course, Eternal Plans Inc.
“From the gutter to the stars.” This was how Nick Joaquin described his rise from being a shoeshine boy and ice-drop peddler to being at the top of one of the country’s most successful business conglomerations.
Our country should have more stories like his—of success built not on patronage, but on personal initiative, talent, hard work and persistence.
These are the very things that have allowed the middle classes of other countries to spur national development and prosperity. They are what we seek to cultivate here in the Philippines. And with the continued service of Eternal Plans—and of the entire preneed industry—we hope to accomplish just that.
Thank you! Mabuhay po tayong lahat!
Endnotes
* Taken from the speech, Filipinos of Today, Filipinos of Yesterday
Image credits: Kevin dela Cruz
6 comments
This is wonderful! Thanks to Sen. Sonny for helping mid class to have a brighter future.
Slaamat sa kanya at kasama ang mga mid class sa mga plano nya.
That’s why he’s an inspiration to many.
Sa mga naguumpisa pa lang ng mga business at sa mga small businesses, si Senator Sonny Angara ang kaagapay natin.
Thanks to these programs that help us middle class in bale to have a much better future.
senator angara is the only senator that even mentions the middle class. his bill to reduce income tax is pro middle class. in contrast, most politicians pamper only the poor because of the votes they can get. Even the church thinks only of the poor — and doesn’t even mention the middle class. the rich? oh, every loves them except the Leftists. the middle class? we are largely ignored by all — except by the BIR and the tax-collecting local governments.