Villar Pushes For Pet Bill During CSR Expo

Sen. Manny Villar presented before the gathering of the Philippines’ largest corporations　last Tuesday, July 20　the bill that will　institutionalize corporate social res-ponsibility (CSR) among wealthy corporations.

Villar, chairman of the Committee on Trade and Commerce and author of Senate Bill 1239 or the Corporate Social Res-ponsibility Act, is one of the speakers during the League of Corporate Foundation’s (LCF) 10th　annual CSR Expo and Conference at the SMX Convention Center.

A staunch advocate of CSR and chairman of the Villar Foundation, Villar is proposing to make mandatory for "large taxpayers" as defined by the National Internal Revenue Code and as identified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to allocate a reasonable percentage of their net income to CSR or projects that complement government’s goals.

The bill, which passed the committee level in the Senate, seeks to provide incentives to business organizations　embracing projects that give back to communities by supporting community development programs, environment protection initiatives, social welfare and assistance.　The incentive could be in the form of a full deduction from its gross income of all expenses incurred.

"The initiative of some business organizations operating in the Philippines’ to care for the environment or provide help to the less fortunate sector of society should be encouraged.　The evolving times tell us that social services should not be a monopoly of the government, especially because we don’t have enough public funds to immediately solve the many problems affecting the country," Villar pointed out.

The Villar Foundation is behind initiatives such as the Las Pinas-Zapote River Rehabilitation Program, the Sagip-OFW Helpline and the construc-tion of churches in different parts of the country.

The CSR on July 20　and 21 provided a platform where the corporate sector and other stakeholders shared best practices, discussed new ideas and trends, addressed current issues and challenges and showcased success stories in CSR.

Over a thousand representatives from the business community, civil society, government, media, and the academe attended the conference and visited the exhibit. /MP