One Town, One
Product Philippines Act of 2022 gets Senate nod
![One Town, One Product Philippines Act of 2022](../../news_clips49/otop-bill.jpg)
L-R:
DTI RIII OIC Regional Director Bi Pili, DTI Assistant Secretary
Leonila Baluyut, DTI Undersecretary Bles Lantayona, Senator
Loren Legarda, Senator Mark Villar, and DTI Secretary Fred
Pascual during the opening of the OTOP Hub at the Senate of the
Philippines on 6 March 2023 |
By
DTI-OSEC-Public Relations Unit
March 22, 2023
MAKATI CITY – On
Monday, 20 March 2023, the Senate of the Philippines passed Senate Bill
No. 1594 also known as the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines Act
of 2022, with twenty-two (22) affirmative votes and no negative votes.
This facilitates the institutionalization of OTOP as a program that aims
to drive inclusive economic growth by supporting micro, small, and
medium enterprises (MSMEs), the backbone of the Philippine economy.
Acknowledging the significant
contribution of MSMEs toward economic growth and development, OTOP
Philippines Act of 2022 warrants the provision of assistance for MSMEs
to develop new, innovative, and more complex products with significant
improvement in the areas of quality, product development, design,
packaging, standards and regulatory compliance, marketability,
production capability, and brand development.
Likewise, rural communities
will be given assistance to foster local economic development by
creating higher quality and innovative products. Furthermore, the act
shall promote the convergence of initiatives from local government units
(LGUs), national government agencies (NGAs), and the private sector in
developing and promoting Filipino-made products that can compete in the
local and international market.
"We thank the Senate for
passing this very important legislation that will increase the capacity
of our MSMEs by addressing gaps in terms of training and product
development. As we all know, more than 99% of the country's business
enterprises are MSMEs, when we uplift them, we uplift the nation and our
economy. Through this, the Department will be able to customize
interventions that will pave the way for the development of new and
innovative products from various regions of the country. It will also
help promote our cultural identity in the international market,"
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Fred Pascual said.
Further, through the
establishment of OTOP Hubs and as part of the national government's
inclusive economic growth agenda, OTOPreneurs or budding MSMEs from the
grassroots are given the opportunity to showcase their unique products
in various locations and access larger market and earning potential.
From 2017-2023, OTOP
Philippines has already assisted 79,985 MSMEs, generated P10.9 million
in sales, developed 39,815 products, established 111 OTOP Hubs (52 in
Luzon, 18 in Visayas, and 41 in Mindanao), and conducted 1,390 trade
fairs. MSMEs were mainly assisted in the form of standards compliance,
product development, capacity building, and promotional activities.
Secretary Pascual further said
that "Since we aim to introduce Filipino-made products in the
international market, we also want to assist MSMEs in terms of standards
and market compliance. We aim to preserve the OTOP brand as a mark of
excellence and for that to happen, Filipino entrepreneurs must be
capacitated in observing various standards and requirements. We need to
make our products export quality, and this is where the DTI-Bureau of
Philippine Standards comes in. They oversee the establishment of
standards that will increase the competitiveness of our products."
Through the OTOP Philippines
Act of 2022, the DTI is likewise authorized to establish the OTOP
Philippines Trustmark, an assurance that products under the OTOP Program
represent the country's best and that these have been marked as
excellent in terms of quality, design, value, and marketability.
The OTOP Philippines Program
covers products that are known to an area or locality and those that are
ingrained in the community's cultural identity such as processed foods,
agricultural-based products, home and fashion and creative artisanal
products, and arts and crafts.