MANILA, Philippines — The Senate in plenary voted to approve the new charter of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on second reading. Sen. Mark Villar is the bill's sponsor and one of the authors.

'One of our advocacies here in the Senate is to future-proof our economy and stimulate economic activity. One of the ways we can achieve this is to broaden the financial inclusion and accessibility of Filipinos needing additional resources for development projects. This is the very mandate of the DBP — to provide development financing for Filipinos,' Villar said.