MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Mark Villar yesterday thanked President Marcos for signing his One Town One Product (OTOP) bill into law.
“We thank President Bongbong for his unwavering support to our local MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and the promotion of Philippine products,” Villar said.
Republic Act 11960 seeks to institutionalize the OTOP as a program to stimulate the growth of SMEs in the countryside.
The OTOP program covers not only Filipino delicacies and handicrafts, but even Filipino skilled services like hilot (Filipino art of massage), Villar said.
“The law will ensure assistance to our SMEs as well as promote Filipino products,” VIllar said.
The law authorized the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to establish the OTOP Philippines Trustmark, as well as create OTOP Philippines hubs.
“These will be strategically located in ports of entry such as airports, seaports, bus terminals, high-traffic retail outlets like malls, tourist destinations and other consumer-frequented locations,” Villar said.
“All local government units (LGUs) shall also establish their own LGU OTOP hub in any location that has high foot traffic, preferably in the city or municipal hall,” he added.
Rep. LRay Villafuerte, one of the authors of RA 11960, said, “This newly signed law will prop up the PEDP (Philippine Export Development Plan) 2023-2028, which aims to transform our country into an export powerhouse of high-value products and services.”
This means the program will bear fruit “before or by the time Marcos leaves office in 2028,” he added.
“This OTOP Law will help shore up the medium-term PEDP and address the not-so-favorable trade data in which exports suffered a two-digit dip in April arising from the risk of a recession in the US, which has dampened global demand for products,” the Camarines Sur congressman observed.
Villafuerte then cited the latest remarks made by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual that such law is needed, “given that the Philippines is a laggard in exports, particularly in the export of goods – those merchandise exports.”
“Economic growth will never be truly inclusive without a strategic national program to supercharge MSMEs, considering that they make up 99.5 percent of local businesses and employ at least 60 percent of our workers,” he explained.
“The OTOP Philippines Act will help fix this weakness as it proposes a package of interventions to improve the quality of products that our towns have to offer and intensify government efforts to market them abroad,” Villafuerte said.
“Making an all-out effort to upgrade the quality of our local goods and aggressively promote them in international markets is crucial to making our merchandise exports more competitive abroad and more resilient in the face of challenges,” he added.
The Palace issued Memorandum Circular 23 last June 20 in step with the President’s approval of the PEDP 2023-2028.
Villafuerte said the 19th Congress’ early approval of the OTOP bill was “timely as the President had just approved the DTI-drafted PEDP amid a weakening export sector resulting from a looming recession in the US and a global economic slowdown.”