DTI-Export
Marketing Bureau hails exporter-turned-PPE maker
![PPE Bayanihan Project](../../news_clips44/ppe_bayanihan.JPG)
By
DTI-TPG
June 9, 2020
MAKATI CITY – The
Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB)
hailed local Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) maker for
spearheading the PPE Bayanihan Project for healthcare frontliners.
Since the country has been
under quarantine, all but essential businesses are closed, including
Leather goods manufacturer The Leather Collection (TLC).
The company, availing
business matching services from the DTI-Export Marketing Bureau, was
already exporting their products. But they had to shut down
operations due to the covid-19 pandemic. Instead of being
discouraged, TLC Chairman Federico Sevilla, Jr., and CEO Yolanda
Sevilla used the time to spearhead the PPE Bayanihan Project for
healthcare frontliners.
To date, they have donated
over 15,000 PPE (face shields, isolation gowns, and jumpsuits) to 82
hospitals, rural health units, and health centers in Metro Manila,
Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Antique, Quezon, Leyte,
Bataan.
The PPE Bayanihan Project
began when the Fashion Design and Merchandising School of the
College of St. Benilde (St. Benilde FDM) asked for materials to make
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). TLC gave water-resistant lining
material and Benilde FDM acknowledged their donations in a Facebook
post.
A friend of the Sevillas
heard of their donation and donated P100,000 seed money to fund the
project. Another donated rolls of water-resistant material. A third
called to say he had a network of home-based sewers in Bulacan who
could make the PPEs.
With all these elements in
place, the PPE Bayanihan Project was launched. Its objective was and
still is to provide our health care workers with PPEs since the
demand for these was high and the supply scarce and were very
important for protecting the health of the medical workers as well
as prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
More friends and friends
of friends got into the bandwagon – donating and soliciting
donations, vetting requests for donations from hospitals, rural
health units, health centers, and health care workers.
TLC functioned as the
operations center: receiving and accounting for donations of money
and materials; sourcing, qualifying and repurposing materials;
product research and design; prototyping and approval of prototypes
by anesthesiologists; coordinating production; receiving and
dispatching finished goods which included face shields, isolation
gowns, and coveralls or jumpsuits.
The PPE Bayanihan Project
not only helped protect the front-liners but also allowed the
Sevillas to leverage their experience in manufacturing; allowed
volunteers to help stem the tide of contagion; and provided
livelihood to home-based sewers in Guiguinto and Baliuag, Bulacan.