The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Inc. – Philippines (FICCI-PH) will confer its most prestigious award — the “Golden Peacock Award of Excellence” on Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, for his “Exemplary Leadership, Dedication and Vision.”
The award will formally be conferred on Salceda in a virtual Gala Night on November 27, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. during the 70th anniversary celebration of FICCI, a non-government trade association based in India. Established in 1927. FICCI-PH strives to enhance the prestige of the Filipino-Indian business community, fosters a stronger brotherhood sense among its members, and helps promote Philippine-India bilateral trade, among others.
On the other hand, the Golden Peacock Awards now running for 30 years, is regarded as a ‘benchmark of global excellence.’ It receives over 1,000 nominations for its various award categories in different fields each year. It has adopted a transparent and 3-tier evaluation process, based on internationally recognized criteria and standards.
Salceda is now seeking reelection as Albay Congressman of his district which covers Legazpi City. He had previously served as Governor of his province for nine years until 2016, and earlier as Congressman of his district for three consecutive terms. He had also served as a cabinet member for one year. A noted economist, he enjoyed the reputation as “Asia’s best stock analyst,” before he joined politics.
The Albay lawmaker currently chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. He has crafted and authored a number of major landmark legislations topped by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law which now taxes the wealthy more and the poor less.
Another game-changer legislation by Salceda is the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, which reduces the corporate income taxes of both large and small corporations to encourage investments, both domestic and foreign. It is envisioned to raise trillions of pesos in tax revenues and savings over the next ten years, generate economic activities estimated at P7 trillion, and create millions of jobs.
Still another landmark law Salceda crafted is the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (R.A.10931) — popularly known as the Free Tuition Law of 2017. The measure provides scholarships in state and local universities and colleges for students from poor families, and allow students who don’t qualify for free tuition, to avail of financial assistance through concessional loans when they enroll in private colleges.
For this particular law, the Commission on Higher Education honored Salceda the special recognition as “Father of Free tuition in College,” conferred on him last May this year.
One other legislation Salceda initiated is Republic Act No. 11590, which will tax the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). President Duterte signed the law last September. The tax regime for POGOs would help stabilize the industry and raise P144 billion in revenues.
Salceda has many other pending bills in Congress, among which are the Department of Disaster Resilience, the Public Schools of the Future, and the Science for Change or S4CP.
FICCI-PH will also honor eight other Filipino leaders in different fields of endeavors, along with Salceda. The other honorees include Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, OPAPP Secretary Carlos G. Galvez, ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica, IPOPHL Director General Rowell S. Barba, and retired PNP chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar.