DTI Secretary supports local manufacturers

Local manufacturers, who have been crying foul over the flooding of cheap imports in the domestic market, have found an ally in the newly-appointed Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Secretary Jesli Lapus, in a speech before members of the newly-organized Filipino Cebuano Business Club Inc. at the Sacred Heart Center on Saturday, specifically cited the plight of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, whose survival is at risk with the tariff-free entry of imported products to the country.

Lapus said that there must be safeguard measures put in place against the dumping of cheap imported goods to the market to protect our local industries, especially the MSMEs, from dying as well as protect the consumers from an inevitable increase in consumer goods.

“These imported goods are cheap now. But once our local industries die and there are no local products to compete with them anymore, then (importers of these products) can now sell them at a higher price,” he said


Some of our local manufacturers in Cebu such as garments and shoes manufacturers have closed shop, as they are unable to compete price-wise, with imported products.

Garment manufacturer Victor Tan earlier said in a report that the lack of regulation of imported garments, aside from the proliferation of “ukay-ukay,” which are also imported, have affected the local garment manufacturers.

Filipino Galvanizers Institute president Salvio Perez also said in a national report that China’s exports of subsidized pre-painted and galvanized steel sheets to the Philippines are hurting the local industry.

Meanwhile, Lapus said the DTI is now working on the MSME Development Plan for 2010-2016, the successor plan of the MSME Development Plan for 2004-2010. Lapus said he will ensure that provisions for more business development services to strengthen the MSMEs in the country will be put in place.

Lapus, former secretary of the Department of Education, is a professional manager in the manufacturing and financial sectors. He has post-graduate studies in the fields of Investment Appraisals and Management and Management of Transfer Technology, among others.

He served as undersecretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform under the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino and as chief executive officer and vice chairman of the board of directors of the Land Bank of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos.

DTI & PCE CONDUCT NEGOSYO SEMINAR FOR MSMES, APRIL 15

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that there will be a free seminar for budding and potential micro, small and medium entrepreneurs which will be held at the Cebu Grand Majestic Convention Center from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., on April 15, Thursday, this year.

In coordination with the Philippine Center for Enterprises (PCE), the seminar will cover topics such as How to Start a Business, Finding Business Opportunities and Choosing the Market for Your Business, The Best Methods for Sustaining Growth, Developing and Innovating Actual Products and Services, Marketing Your Business, Funding Your Business and Managing Your Finance.

According to the DTI, the seminar is anchored under the spirit of private-public sector partnership and on a mandate to create more entrepreneurs thereby increasing livelihood and employment opportunities for the marginalized sector.

Seminar speakers and lecturers are chosen from the business sector by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship –Go Negosyo.

Participation to the seminar is on a first come, first serve basis. For reservation and more information, interested parties may call on the DTI Provincial Offices: DTI-Cebu tel nos. (032) 412-1863 or 253-2631; DTI-Bohol tel nos. (038) 411-3302 or 501-8260; DTI-Negros Oriental at tel. nos. (035) 225-4781; 422-1764; DTI-Siquijor at tel nos. (035) 344-2238 or 480-9065.

In today’s global economy, our entrepreneurs need the skills and capability to manage resources in a highly competitive and fast changing environment.

Sen.Pia cayetano urges LGUs to protect Cebu's watersheds

Sen. Pia Cayetano has urged local government units (LGUs) in Cebu to protect the Cebu Central Protected Landscape (CCPL) amid growing concerns on the effects of climate change in the country.

Cayetano, who was in Cebu Saturday to speak at an event at Benedicto College, said the strict implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9486, or the Cebu Central Protected Landscape Act of 2007, is needed as watershed areas are under threat from the effects of global warming.

The National Government failed to allocate funds for the law’s implementation, Cayetano said.

RA 9486 was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to create a management body that would protect the 29,000-hectare CCPL, which covers the watersheds of Buhisan, Mananga and Kotkot-Lusaran and the Central Cebu and Sudlon National Parks. The protected landscape covers the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Danao and Toledo, and the towns of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Balamban.

The woman senator, who is one of the primary authors of the law, said that in her recent talk with local environmentalists, she learned that the water sources in Cebu are at risk due to the effects of climate change and increasing development in upland areas.

Cayetano accused the national government of neglecting to heed climate change warnings. She claimed it had to wait for the devastating effects of typhoon Ondoy to be convinced about the urgency of the problem.

Cayetano urged LGUs in Cebu, specially those that depend on the CCPOL for water, to be vigilant and pro-active.

She also praised the Cebu Archdiocese, led by archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, for designating 2010 as the year for the environment.

She said any group or person who acts for the welfare of the environment is worthy of praise. (PNA)

4th OTOP Visayas Island Fair on November 18 - 22

More than a hundred OTOP Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from Region 6, Region 7, and Region 8 are expected to join the 4th Visayas One Town One Product (OTOP) Fair from November 18 to 22, 2009 at the SM City Cebu atrium.

Products for sale are souvenir items, novelty items, gift items, furniture and furnishings, natural fiber, and fashion accessories such as bags, shawls, headgears, processed food and footwear. Tourist destinations have also been included in the OTOP marketing program.

Cebu was chosen as the venue this year because it is the center of trade and commerce in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Invited to attend the fair are buyers from Manila and from the regions, governors and mayors and other government officials from the National Government Agencies, among others.

The 4th Visayas OTOP fair will focus on selling the products produced by the MSMEs of the three regions under the OTOP Philippines program.

OTOP is one of the priority programs of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs in the countryside.

It encourages the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to produce and market distinct products or services using indigenous raw materials and local skills of every municipality or city.

While DTI is the project’s marketing arm, OTOP is a “collaborative” effort of all sectors in the society, with the local government units (LGUs) as the lead.

Executives of the Local Government Units (LGUs) take the lead in identifying, developing, and promoting a specific product or service which has a competitive advantage.

The DTI through its Provincial Offices assist the LGUs in identifying the specific product and coordinated other forms of assistance from other government agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Science and Technology (DOST), Tourism (DOT) and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), among others.

Package of assistance include business counseling, skills and entrepreneurial training, marketing, and introduction of appropriate technologies.

The 1st and 3rd OTOP fair was held in Cebu City, while the 2^nd fair was held in Boracay.

It is focused on the product development initiatives of the DTI highlighting the tourism and market potentials of the Supra Region, the Central Philippines , which attracts more than half of the foreign tourists in the country.

For businesses that lack high level of marketing, an intra-regional exhibit like the Visayas Otop (One Town, One Product) Fair is a good opportunity to showcase “the best of Philippine products. This is a venue for them to be recognized, especially that this fair covers the entire Central Philippines.

Cebu still top emerging outsourcing city of the world

For the second consecutive year, Cebu has emerged as the number one “Emerging Outsourcing City” of the world.

Based on the latest report released by Tholons, a leading full-service strategic advisory firm for Global Outsourcing and Investments, Cebu bested other cities in the world like Shanghai and Beijing in China, Krakow in Poland, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

In its fourth year, Tholons not only lists/ranks the eight established and 50 emerging destinations, but also ranks the Next 10 aspiring cities ‘on the Tholons Radar.’

The report also provides relative scores of each of the cities for the six parameters of scale and quality of labor pool, cost, business catalyst, infrastructure, risk and quality of life, which are a part of the Tholons Location Assessment Framework.

The study views offshore destinations and location assessment from the perspective of the clients.

The Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector is now under pressure to improve its rank from number one emerging BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) destination in the world, to fully emerged BPO destination.

NERBAC – 7 receives public service award from CSC

The National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center in Central Visayas (NERBAC – 7) was awarded a recognition by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on September 25, 2009 at the CSC Multi-Purpose Hall in Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City.

This was the result of the CSC’s conduct of the Public Service Delivery Assessment (PASADA) covering the period August 26, 2008 and August 2009 with a rating of “VERY GOOD” in exhibiting the value of customer care and meeting the expectations of the transacting public for prompt, courteous, responsive, facilitative and pleasant service.

DTI – 7 Regional Director and NERBAC Chairman Asteria C. Caberte shares the award with the NERBAC’s members of the Governing Board, specially the heads of the participating mandatory agencies and the Cebu City Government, without whose cooperation and commitment, the Center would not be possible.

NERBAC is a project created by RA # 7470 that aims to reduce red tape, improve effectiveness and efficiency in government services. One of NERBAC’s functions is to create a friendly business registration, permitting and licensing environment.

The Center, located at the ground floor of the LDM building, Lapu-lapu and Legaspi Sts., Cebu City, houses representatives from the mandatory agencies like the (BIR, SSS, PhilHealth & Pag-IBIG) in registering business and the Cebu City Hall for the initial processing of new applications for Mayor’s Business Permit. It functions as a one-stop-shop for business registration.

Members of the NERBAC-7 Governing Board from the government are the Department of Agriculture, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Social Security System, Bureau of Internal Revenue, PhilHealth Insurance Corporation and the Pag-IBIG FUND. From the private sector, Cebu Investment Promotions Center, Bohol Investment Promotions Center, Negros Oriental Investment Promotions Center, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and the University of San Carlos.

FAME Foundation holds fashion accessories exhibition in Cebu, Sept 26-28

On September 26-28, 2009, international buyers will converge on Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort And Spa in Cebu, Philippines for a unique Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Fair that merges business and pleasure.

Organized by the Fashion Accessories Manufacturers And Exporters Foundation Philippines, Inc. (FAME Foundation), Bijoux Cebu is a trade-only exhibition that showcases an extensive collection of fashion accessories - costume jewelry, bags, sandals, components - focusing on the highly popular trend of eco-fashion.

This year’s exhibition will present the Spring-Summer 2010 Collection - an extensive and all-original collection of Philippine green jewelry.

In addition, Bijoux Cebu 2009 will be an interactive and experiential trade show that builds on industry knowledge, business relationships, and social responsibility, and will share exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks at the industry.

Bijoux Cebu is scheduled right after the September 2009 edition of the Asia’s Fashion Jewellery And Accessories Fair (AFJAF) in Hongkong. A good number of AFJAF’s buyers already visit Cebu after the show, either for business or pleasure. Bijoux Cebu, offering both a commercial and social experience, will give them an even stronger reason for going to Cebu after AFJAF.

Bijoux Cebu provides buyers a never-before-revealed insight and deeper understanding of the Philippines’ craftsmanship & ingenuity, design capabilities, and wide variety of raw materials

The trade exhibition provides buyers with the opportunity for on-the-spot product design & development based on their requirements, since samples of all raw materials will be readily available during the show. It also supports the Go Green initiative of the Foundation and provides numerous livelihood opportunities to the rural communities

There is no admission fee to Bijoux Cebu for all buyers and special guests.
Special rates for accommodations at Shangri -la’s Mactan Resort And Spa have also been arranged and are exclusive for pre-registered buyers. (http://www.bijouxcebu.com/events.html)