Loren: One town, one product to boost rural dev’t
SENATOR Loren Legarda noting the immense value of promoting and patronizing local products that reflect the creativity of the different localities producing them said that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that produce these products have a special role to play in the country’s regional economic development.
To support the MSMEs in the industry, Legarda refiled Senate Bill 247 or the OTOP Philippines Act of 2022. She filed a similar measure during her term in the House of Representatives with the aim of assisting said small enterprises grow and become economic boosters for their localities.
Legarda said her bill seeks to institutionalize the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines Program, which promotes local products from a sector and a locality.
The program shall capacitate the MSMEs on product development, initiatives, and training, among others, to upgrade our MSMEs.
The OTOP Program shall assist in product development, packaging and labeling, technology updating, capacity building, standards and market compliance, and market access and product promotion.
It also seeks to create the OTOP Management Committee within the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the OTOP Program Office in each local government unit to help achieve the objectives of the law, Legarda explained.
“The MSMEs should be supported financially and in terms of capacity-building. They are the lifeblood of our economy, especially during this health crisis,” Legarda said.
DTI shall serve as the lead agency of the measure.
Similar programs called one village one product had reportedly been executed in other countries like Japan and Vietnam with great success in boosting local employment and industry.
