Romualdez: One Town, One Product Law to help MSME in post-pandemic recovery

FILE PHOTO: Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

MANILA, Philippines — The One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines Act would help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic growth through policies and programs pushing for inclusive local economic activity, according to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

Last August 25, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 11960 or the Act Institutionalizing the OTOP Philippines Program.

Romualdez claimed the law would be “perfect” for the country’s economic recovery, particularly the MSMEs.

READ: ‘One Town, One Product’ bill inches closer to becoming law

“The OTOP Philippines Act is the true embodiment of the Filipino first policy. This is exactly the kind of attitude we need to aid in the recovery of MSMEs, which make up 90 percent of all local business, following the pandemic,” the lawmaker said in a statement on Sunday.

Aside from establishing policies and programs, the law also pushes for the promotion of “the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials, and locally produced goods, and adopt measures to make them competitive.”

“The OTOP Philippines Program is hereby institutionalized and shall be one of the government’s stimulus programs that will encourage the growth of MSMEs in the countryside through the development of indigenous raw materials, utilizing local skills and talents and featuring local traditions across the country; Provided, that simplified requirements and procedures shall be adopted for beneficiaries to easily access the components of the program,” the law reads.

The program will likewise cover locally produced products and skill-based services such as processed foods, agricultural-based products, home and fashion products, arts and crafts, and skills-based services.

“The OTOP Program will redound not just to the individual localities or regions, but the entire country itself in an expedited manner,” Romualdez said.

“It also aims to assist rural communities in growing the local economy and being more market-oriented and innovation-driven, as well as promote convergence of initiatives from local government units (LGUs), national government agencies, and the private sector in developing and promoting Philippine products, whether for export of the domestic market,” he added.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would be in charge of the law’s implementation and the creation of the program’s management office in order to oversee the program.

The agency’s regional and provincial offices, in cooperation with the concerned local government units, are likewise mandated to determine the beneficiaries of the said program.

JPV