by admin | Dec 4, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines
The Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), in collaboration with the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) and Export Development Council (EDC), has lined up activities in celebration of the National Exporters’ Week (NEW) on 01-07 December 2017 with the theme “Innovate. Collaborate. Export!” The NEW is an annual event as stipulated under Presidential Proclamation 931, series of 1996 and House Resolution 33, declaring the first week of December as Exporters’ Week. It targets to obtain the full commitment of the government and the private sector to continuously work together to sustain and maintain export promotion and development.
The celebration starts with the opening of the NEW Bazaar at the DTI International Building, along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. It will run from 04 to 15 December, except on weekends. On the same day, the Philexport will hold its Regional Consultation at the Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino in Ermita, Manila.
On 05 December 2017, over 700 delegates including exporters, business support organizations, policy makers, and academe will convene at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay Manila for the annual National Export Congress (NEC). This year’s NEC, the highlight of the NEW celebration, aims to promote a business environment that will inspire exporters to do more innovation and collaboration to reinforce their entrepreneurial capabilities.
“With the rise of changing global economies and various technological advancements, more than ever, exporters face tremendous challenges in various fronts. Hence, the Philippine export community is aggressively gearing up to hold the NEC. The community expects to mark another milestone for Filipino exporters,” EMB Director Senen M. Perlada said.
Also part of the week-long NEW celebration is the conduct of Usapang Exports, an information session under the DTI-EMB’s Philippine Export Competitiveness Program (PECP), at St. Giles Hotel in Makati City on 06 December.
On 07 December, an informative seminar on the basics of exporting will be held at the Pinnacle Hotel in Davao City.
Earlier, DTI-EMB held the first two runs of Usapang Exports in Cebu on 21 November and in Davao on 23 November.
by admin | Dec 3, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
THE Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) has approved in principle the development of new tourism loops for Bohol.
Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) said the TIEZA concept groups that visited Bohol last month have endorsed the Abatan River-San Vicente Ferrer pilgrimage site-Punta Cruz Watchtower loop in Maribojoc town, the Ubay Stock Farm in Ubay and all possible activities on top of rodeos that can be done there, and more exciting and titillating activities at the Danao Adventure Park in Danao.
Aumentado said the concept groups will next conduct the formal feasibility studies to determine what infrastructure and improvements are needed to ensure complete, convenient, enjoyable and memorable tourist experiences.
Based on the studies, the detailed engineering designs (DEDs) and programs of works (POWs) can then be prepared. These, in turn, will determine the cost of the projects – readying them to be proposed for funding.
The visit of the TIEZA concept groups was at the instance of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco and Aumentado as part of the latter’s responsibilities as House Tourism vice chair.
The solon had said Bohol should offer more than the Chocolate Hills and the tarsier to keep its niche in the highly competitive tourism industry – at a reasonable price range.
The entry of more airlines to the province is a step in the right direction. Competition augurs well for each company trying to outdo each other in terms of rates and services, he said.
This should also be the case for the resorts and hotels in Alona Beach in Panglao and all other beach strips here.
To note, he warned, other provinces are starting to develop their respective beaches and are now offering river cruises as well.
“Sooner or later, beach tourism – a maturing industry in Bohol – will reach a plateau. Pairing it with just the tarsier and the Chocolate Hills might become too bland already for adventure seekers hence, the need to innovate, improve existing and add more facilities”, he explained.
by admin | Nov 29, 2017 | Business, National News
MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) financing and guarantee attached corporation, Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) attached micro-finance will be offering zero percent interest loans to help the constituents of Lanao del Sur, specifically Marawi micro entrepreneurs displaced by the war, starting early December 2017 up to April 2018 as part of government rehabilitation efforts of Marawi City.
“The recent events in Marawi raised the need to generate several programs that will aide in the rehabilitation of Marawi and the full assistance to affected residents. In support of government-wide efforts to help the people of Marawi, we will be working closely with our Maranao countrymen to ensure they have access to the needed funds to get their businesses back on their feet,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
After the interest free loan, we shall extend the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asesnso (P3) Program which is also the Microfinance program implemented by the SBCorp. This will be complemented by starter livelihood kits being distributed by the DTI.
For Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) that want to start lending to the Lanao del Sur area in solidarity with the people of Marawi and the entire province, the P3 Program will provide credit risk support to MFIs in exchange for their timely and quick response. A DTI-SBCorp team has been assigned at DTI-Marawi to set up the P3 facility, which will also be supported by DTI-Cagayan de Oro.
To date, SBCorp—with the support of the DTI regional and provincial offices—has accredited a total of 94 MFIs, plus another 45 MFIs in the pipeline. Moreover, the P3 Program is now rolled out throughout the entire country from north to south except for a handful of provinces, with close to 40,000 borrowers to date.
Most of the MFIs that have signed up are cooperatives, i.e. self-help people’s organizations that have a good grasp of the needs of their members to grow their businesses. Likewise, several large MFIs—including the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD)—have aired their support to the program for its timely scale up even in remote areas of the country.
“We laud SBCorp’s untiring efforts to link up with finance institutions across the country to ensure conduits are in place for the P3 Program. We have the funds, and we now have the channels to help our MSMEs expand their businesses,” said Sec. Lopez
For 2018, the government will add another Php1.0 billion to the P3 fund to support more micro enterprises in growing their small business.
The SBCorp will be accrediting least five local MFIs per province in the coming years to ensure that micro enterprises will have easy and reliable access to reasonably-priced credit within their own locality, with a total of 400 grassroots conduits targeted. The agency will also support these MFIs by way of capacity-building training.
Through the P3 program, the government hopes to encourage communities to organize themselves into cooperatives or other self-help units engaged in entrepreneurship.
DTI also opened the invitation to the rural banking sector to support the P3 Program, given the more than 2,000 branches nationwide that are mostly rural-based. These make the small banks a potent force for scaling up the P3 Program and for improving the fund-channeling system so that the fund reaches micro enterprises in a timely and judicious manner.
Launched last April 2017, the P3 Program supports micro entrepreneurs across the country with an initial funding of Php850 million via lower cost loans. The program is intended to help those people involved in micro enterprises and who are vulnerable to usurious lenders in the absence of an alternative source.
Under the program, a micro enterprise can borrow between Php5,000 up to Php100,000 depending on its business need and repayment capacity. Interest rate and service fees do not exceed 2.5 percent monthly as compared to the 20 percent monthly rate under the 5/6 system. Documentation is simplified and processing time is also reasonable.
Among those helped by the P3 Program were Rose Marie Obena of Tacloban City, Leyte and Hercolano Villasin of Calubian, Leyte. Obena was the sole survivor among her family after Typhoon Yolanda, and was among the first batch of market vendors that accessed a P3 loan to expand her store. The 78-year old Villasin, on the other hand, accessed the P3 Program through the Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FATIMA MPC) to support his dried fish business, which he had been doing since he was in his teens.
“Through the P3, our poor sectors can find relief from overly expensive borrowings as they pursue their livelihood activities,” the trade chief said.
by admin | Nov 29, 2017 | Malakanyang Updates, Photo Story
PRRD RALLIES LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO ‘BUILD BUILD BUILD’. President Rodrigo Duterte offered strong support to the Philippine construction industry during his keynote speech at the 2nd Philippine Construction Congress (28, November) in Pasay. The President urged local contractors to join the government in building massive infrastructure projects under the ‘Build Build Build’ program, creating more opportunities leading to ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ through Trabaho at Negosyo, or jobs and business opportunities for Filipinos. Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Ramon Lopez reported to the President the strong commitment of the construction industry to help the government in its efforts for the reconstruction of the Marawi City. Sec. Lopez also mentioned the support of the Philippine Contractors Association (PCA) for the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) by donating Php 1 million to the anti-crime organization. The 2nd Philippine Construction Congress is headed by the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), an attached agency of DTI that facilitates and regulates the growth and development of the industry in line with the national goals. Also present at the event was DOLE Sec Silvestre Bello. In the picture are: DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III (rightmost), DTI Undersecretaries Ruth Castelo (3rd from R), Nora Terrado (2nd from R), Rowel Barba (5th from R), and Assistant Secretaries Abdul Gani Macatoman (3rd from R), Ameenah Fajardo (3rd from L) and Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano (leftmost).
by admin | Nov 27, 2017 | Headlines, Photo Story
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez together with DoubleDragon (DD) CEO Edgar “Injap” Sia (4th from R) and President Ferdinand Sia (6th from R) led (25 November 2017) the inaugural launch of 22 Go Lokal! Stores nationwide, with the ceremonial launch conducted in CityMall Imus, Cavite. CityMall is the fifth mall partner of Go Lokal! that will feature world-class products of Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in high foot traffic areas free of charge. Sec. Lopez said that with DTI’s collaboration with the private sector, MSMEs will have access to bigger value chains, which would give them the opportunity to explore bigger markets for their products. DD CEO Injap Sia, on the other hand, announced his plan to provide a space for Go Lokal! stores in over 100 CityMalls that are set to open nationwide. Go Lokal! is a design-concept store initiated by DTI showcasing innovative, high-quality Philippine products crafted, designed, and produced by the country’s MSMEs. Also at the inauguration were DTI Assistant Secretary Rosvi Gaetos (6th from L), DoubleDragon CityMalls Special Projects Head Frederico Gutierrez (2nd from R), Imus, Cavite Vice Mayor Arnel Catimbuhan (3rd from R), and other DTI officials
