The Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) said that the Tatak Pinoy Act can help generate jobs for Filipinos and develop lagging industries.
In a statement Wednesday, Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said that the export community welcomes the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 11981, as similar efforts to encourage the purchase of Filipino products have mostly “fizzled out.”
“Particularly commendable is that RA 11981 enshrines private sector representation. For the first time, they thought of putting up a platform to really put together the government and the different industries to ensure sustainability of effort,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.
“It makes us happy that at least we have a vehicle to be able to address this. There have been a lot of laws passed lately whose value is debatable, but this law is surely of benefit to the country,” he added.
He said that in the short term, the law tackles low-hanging fruit such as job generation, by complementing the projects led by the Department of Trade and Industry.
“Later on, more projects can be identified for medium- and long-term development under the Tatak Pinoy Act,” he said.
“We have many industries that need to be developed that are not being developed, such as the bamboo industry,” he added.
Signed on Feb. 26, the law aims to develop a Tatak-Pinoy Strategy to support local industries “from the time of development to market expansion and to associate the Filipino brand with high-quality products.”
“The law aims to elevate the standard and competitiveness of Philippine products and services by fostering stronger collaboration between government agencies and the private sector,” Philexport said.
The law also calls for the establishment of the Tatak Pinoy Council, which will be chaired by the Trade secretary and co-chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority and Finance secretaries.
“The Council is tasked to implement the program’s initiatives and ensure that Philippine products and services are highlighted in international exhibitions and strategic retail placements,” the organization said.
Under the law, the government will also allot funding to businesses and provide them incentives, such as expedited processing of permits and certifications, over a 10-year period.
“The government is hoping that by passing RA 11981, it will improve the country’s ranking in the Atlas of Economic Complexity, which measures a nation’s capacity to make more complex products,” Philexport said.
“The Philippines currently ranks 33rd out of 133 countries in terms of the level of sophistication of export products,” it added. — Justine Irish DP Tabile
