Strict compliance with Tropical Fabrics Law urged

MANILA, Philippines -  Agham Partylist Rep. Angelo Palmones has called for stricter compliance with Republic Act 9242 or the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law to help the local textile industry.

Palmones said patronizing locally-made products made with indigenous fabrics will create more jobs for the agricultural and industrial sectors.

R.A. 9242 requires government official and employees to use tropical fabrics for office uniform.

Palmones said the textile industry used to be one of the major generators of employment in the country.

President Aquino has signed Presidential Proclamation 86, declaring Jan. 24,  2011 as “Philippine Tropical Fabrics Day.”

“The proclamation is a good reminder to see if this law has been fully implemented,” Palmones said in a statement.

“There is now a growing preference of consumers for natural products like fabrics and dyes. This is a recognition of the country’s capability to develop consumer-preferred world-class garments, which will benefit all textile stakeholders: the farmers, manufacturers and the users,” Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) Director Carlos Tomboc said.

PTRI is one of the research and development institutes under the Department of Science and Technology mandated to conduct applied research and development for the textile industry sector, and   undertake projects that will promote and  contribute to the development, production and utilization of local raw materials  needed by the textile industry.

Tomboc also pushed for the review of the implementing rules and regulations for RA 9242 also known as “An Act Prescribing the Use of Philippine Tropical Fabrics for Uniforms of Public Officials and Employees and for Other Purposes.”

He said the law has not been fully implemented by government agencies and that the IRR has not indicated the penalties for violators.

Tomboc said the local textile industry has been losing its revenues to “ukay-ukay” and imported textiles in the last se-veral years.

“We are importing about P2 billion worth of textile, mostly are synthetic, eve-ry year,” he said.

Tomboc said the price of the imported textile  mostly from China  costs around P5 to P10 lower than the local fabric.

He noted that textile mills in the country have gone down from 56 to six now.

The textile industry provides jobs to some 500, 000 Filipinos, Tomboc said.