Nelson Morales

Senatorial aspirant  Bam Aquino greets supporters before filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2025  midterm elections at the Manila Hotel in Manila on October 7, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file

Former Senator Bam Aquino greets supporters before filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2025  midterm elections at the Manila Hotel in Manila on October 7, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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Halalan 2025-COC Filing

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173624882644520250107110116_20241007-coc-filing-senate-bam-aquino-JC4475.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Senatorial aspirant Bam Aquino greets supporters before filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections at the Manila Hotel in Manila on October 7, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file"/>Senatorial aspirant  Bam Aquino greets supporters before filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2025  midterm elections at the Manila Hotel in Manila on October 7, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file</div>MANILA – Senatorial aspirant Benigno &quot;Bam&quot; Aquino IV on Tuesday said  the government should focus on getting rid of corruption, especially in importation, to help address rising  prices of basic goods and rice.The former senator said business owners told him they want to lower prices, but they have to give &quot;under the table&quot; payments to speed up processing of documents like permits and assessments.&quot;Yung pinakauna talagang kailangan gawin tugusin ang corruption sa importation, sa ports, mga kartel na nagcocontrol ng presyo ng pagkain natin. Kung ang ports natin mawala yung corruption, easily 10, 15, 20% ng bilihin kayang ibaba kahit ang bigas,&quot; he said on Harapan 2025.&quot;Para sa akin, ang talagang dapat bigyang tutok ng gobyerno natin ang pagbaba ng presyo ng bilihin gawan ng political will na matugis ang corruption,&quot; Aquino added.Meantime, Aquino does not believe his opposition to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law affected his campaign in 2019.&quot;I don&#x27;t think so. Yung mga batas kasi natin komplikado. I don&#x27;t think it was an issue for many people,&quot; he said.Aquino clarified that his &quot;no&quot; vote was not against the law&#x27;s goals, but in its implementation.&quot;Ang hiniling ko at that time, pwede ba i-postpone natin yung implementation habang masigurado natin yung tulong sa mahihirap nating kababayan…. Ano plano ng gobyerno dito kapag tumaas yung presyo?&quot; he explained.The former senator said he was opposed to the government giving aid in 10 months, but wanted immediate implementation of the law.&quot;I don&#x27;t regret my decision. Bakit ka susuporta sa batas na magpapahirap sa tao ng nine months? Yung bawat buwan na tumataas yung presyo ng bilihin, napakasakit niyan,&quot; Aquino said.When asked if he will introduce amendments to the TRAIN Law if elected, he said they will do their best to lower prices and study the best way moving forward.

Senatorial aspirant Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV on Tuesday said the government should focus on getting rid of corruption, especially in importation, to help address rising prices of basic goods and rice.

Senatorial aspirant Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV on Tuesday said the government should focus on getting rid of corruption, especially in importation, to help address rising prices of basic goods and rice.

Harapan 2025: Eliminating corruption in imports can help lower prices, Bam Aquino says

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Harapan 2025: Eliminating corruption in imports can help lower prices, Bam Aquino says

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 07, 2025 07:20 PM PHT

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Halalan 2025

Bam Aquino

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