Mr. President, it is an honor to be a co-sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1594 under Committee Report no. 14 submitted by the Committees on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship; Local Government; and Finance which provides for the “OTOP Philippines Act of 2022”.
This representation filed Senate Bill No. 286 with a vision to promote the products and services of the different localities of our country which will not only result to progress in our economy, but more importantly, to strengthen the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that comprise 99.58% of all the businesses in the country.[1]
One Town, One Product (OTOP) is an adaptation of Japan’s “One Village One Product”. But through the years since its implementation in the Philippines in 2002, it was molded into an indigenized program that serves as an important vehicle to bring the native products and services to a wider reach of consumers. As it is now being implemented by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), OTOP provides a holistic support to the MSMEs by attending to both the supply and demand side of the business. On one hand, they cultivate the mindset change and mastery of entrepreneurship while on the other hand, they assist the product development and marketing through physical and online channels. In their effort to continually improve the program, the DTI relaunched the program in 2017 to “allow more communities to have more than one OTOP offering” and to “transition to being more market-oriented and innovation-driven”. during this occasion, the department was able to assist 6,519 MSMEs and developed of improved a total of 4,960 products.
These initiatives will certainly be sustained if a legislation that institutionalizes the program will be enacted. The proposed law will not only provide the appropriate structure and institutionalized roadmap for the program, but will also ensure sufficient funding for the implementation of the same.
Ang pagpapalawig ng “One Town, One Product” ay tiyak na makapaglilikha ng mga trabaho para sa ating mga mamamayan, lalo na sa kanayunan. Sa pamamagitan nito, magiging mahalagang instrumento ito upang maiangat ang antas ng kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayan at magiging kaagapay ng pamahalaan sa pagsupil ng kahirapan sa ating bansa. Sa kabuuan, ito ay magiging daan upang makamit natin ang pag-unlad para sa lahat o ang tinatawag nating “genuine inclusive development”.
Bukod pa rito, ang ating masiglang paglahok sa pandaigdigang kalakalan ay maipagpapatuloy sa pamamagitan ng panukalang “OTOP act”. Dahil sa mas malawak na merkado, ang mga oportunidad at benepisyo nito ay pakikinabangan ng mas maraming Pilipino at mag-uudyok sa kanila na lalo pang paghusayin ang kanilang mga produkto.
Mr. President, the Philippines boasts of its vast natural and human resources. The proposed OTOP act will celebrate the unique character of the diverse products of our local communities and the rich heritage of their people.
Let us embrace and support home grown talents, artisans and craftsmen, as well as our indigenous resources and local traditions. Let us harness them as our competitive advantage and unique identity as we venture in the world market. I am giving my full support to the passage of the OTOP Philippines act 2022.
Thank you, Mr. President.
[1] MSME Statistics | Department of Trade and Industry Philippines (dti.gov.ph)