Sen. Bam Aquino visits CARD MRI

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV graced the CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) in San Pablo City, Laguna on July 11, 2016 and revisited his experiences helping socio-economically challenged families together with CARD MRI.

In his speech, the Senator observed that although many things have changed, CARD’s passion remains as they continue helping Filipino families in need. He recalled that the first time he visited CARD there were only eight institutions. Today, the organization has grown to 14 institutions working together to achieve their goal of eradicating poverty in the country.

In his three years of being a Senator, he has supported microfinance work to help indigent Filipinos do well in their businesses. According to him, helping Filipino entrepreneurs is of consistent interest for him. In fact, he led the launching of San Pablo Negosyo Center on the same day of his visit to CARD MRI. The San Pablo Negosyo Center is the 253^rd Negosyo Center in the country that supports the development of small, micro and medium enterprises (mSMEs). The Negosyo Centers have been open for business, aiding micro, small and medium enterprises flourish since November 2014.

Senator Bam mentioned that together with the new Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Simon Lopez, former Executive Director of Go Negosyo, DTI will develop an arm to act as a frontline service organization for the micro and small enterprises. He adds that they will strengthen the Negosyo Centers in terms of financing, marketing edge, and business development. This will continue to strengthen the support system for partner institutions.

He also said that while the government could provide the platform, the interface of the private sector and non-government partners literally and figuratively may increase the profit of the Negosyo Centers and its members.

Senator Aquino also shared that he is hoping to get the Chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Education. He stated that he will focus on the K to 12 curriculum reform, which according to him is the battleground for the youth’s education. He emphasized though that his legislative work focuses equally on supporting tertiary level education and beyond. He further expressed that he will also focus on providing opportunities for out-of-school youth in the country.

“We are again inspired by Senator Bam’s plans in uplifting the lives of Filipinos. I agree with him that education and business are really important factors in uplifting the lives of Filipinos in our country and that government and private organizations play a big role in its achievement,” says CARD MRI Founder and Managing Director Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip.

CARD MRI has been continuously serving poor Filipinos since 1986. It provides programs and services such as financial services for mSMEs, micro insurance, education and community development. It also holds conferences and seminars that empower mSMEs in the country. It has a total client served of 3.6 million families as of June 2016.