House Approves Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy Bill

BAGUIO CITY – (June 2, 2021) – The House of Representatives passed on its third reading a bill that seeks to create a Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy, a specialized institute that will enhance core entrepreneurial competencies and foster sustainable economic growth.

House Bill No. 8957, in substitution to HB 4263, known as the Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy Act, seeks to offer undergraduate and graduate programs, short-term diploma and certificate courses, and modular trainings on entrepreneurship. These cover entrepreneurship development in the fields of agriculture, trade, technology, and manufacturing.

The Academy will formalize and integrate under a school system the non-formal entrepreneurship programs and short-courses of the TESDA, DTI, DOST and other government agencies, and conduct scientific, policy-oriented research and training.

According to Baguio City representative Mark Go, the bill’s primary author, the Academy is designed to produce highly skilled entrepreneurs and empower the youth to re-energize the MSME sector to generate job growth and revitalize other industries.

Once passed, the Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy will have two campuses: one in the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga, and one in Baguio City.

A president will be appointed by a board of trustees, the Academy’s governing body, who will preside over the academy’s operations and administration. The board of trustees will be compose of the following: the CHED chairperson, who will co-chair the board alongside the president; the higher and technical education committee chairpersons of the House and the Senate; the TESDA director-general; the NEDA director-general; secretaries of DOST and DTI; presidents of the federations of faculty, student, and alumni associations of the academy; and two prominent private citizens with expertise in their own fields of specialization.

“Micro, small and medium enterprises form the backbone of the Philippine economy. MSMEs account for about 99.5 percent of enterprises operating in the country and employ 62.8 percent of the workforce. That said, we have yet to fully capitalize on the potential of MSMEs for national productivity and job creation”, Rep. Go said.

According to Rep. Go, MSMEs make up only 36 percent of the country’s GDP. Rep. Go said the Academy can help foster the growth of MSMEs, which can solve the country’s latest unemployment rate at 5.1 percent, promote inclusive economic growth, and ignite countryside development.

The Baguio lawmaker said that he hopes HB 8957 would cultivate a strong culture of entrepreneurship to drive the twin goals of national productivity and job creation. ###