DTI holds biz forum, ‘diskwento’ caravan

BUSINESS TRENDS 

BAGUIO CITY --  The Dept. of Trade and Industry  through Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED)  hosted a regional business forum here to promote awareness on disaster resilience  and  micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) development .

Attended by around 200 including public and private stakeholders, the forum focused on building a regional roadmap and action plan for MSME disaster resilience.

DTI – CAR Regional Director Myrna Pablo, in a media briefing, outlined the importance of the forum in strengthening business resilience for the MSMEs sector in Cordillera.

MSMEs, she explained, is a very vulnerable sector as far as disaster is concerned. 

Of the around 15,000 MSMEs in the region, at least 80 percent of them can be easily be affected by flooding, typhoons, and landslides that commonly result to road closures or isolation of far flung/mountainous communities. 

The forum generally aims to capacitate and promote awareness on disaster resilience so that MSMEs can be regionally integrated and for their business endeavors can be globally competitive and sustainable, Jaworksi Rifareal of DTI – BSMED   added.said.

For the learning sessions, Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Albert Mogol talked about the Philippine DRRM System; Abigail Guiang of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation presented   the public – private partnership and business continuity planning and management; and Margarita Dizon of DOST – PHIVOLCS talked about the natural hazards and risks in the region.  Businessmen Virgilio Bautista and Antonio Rafio Jr. shared their perspective on business continuity plan.

Jesus Alegre Jr. of Land Bank of the Philippines presented LBP’s Calamity Rehabilitation Support Fund  while  Maria Lourdes Tan of Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solution taked about micro – insurance.

For the development of the regional action plan, the forum participants were   engaged in a workshop that focused on the four themes of the National MSME Disaster Resilience Roadmap, namely enhancing MSME General and Disaster Risk Data; DRRM and Business Continuity Management awareness and training; Tailored Risk Financing for MSMEs; and MSMEs inclusion in the DRRM and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) policy, planning and local institutions.

Pablo assured that in addition to the forum, DTI – CAR will roll out the MSME Disaster Resiliency action planning and awareness advocacy in the different provinces of Cordillera until they can bring the importance of business continuity planning and management to all MSMEs in the region.

 This MSME business forum was the 14th fora the DTI has conducted in support of the National MSME Development Plan 2017 – 2022.

Meanwhile, in time for the June 3 opening of classes in public schools, the DTI, in partnership with Tiong San Supermart, opened on May 31   the Diskwento Caravan: Balik Eskwela Edition.

DTI Baguio – Benguet provincial director Freda Gawisan disclosed Diskwento Caravan was hosted by Tiong San branches along Harrison Road and Campo Sioco in Baguio City and in Kilometer 4, La Trinidad, Benguet.

In partnership with various suppliers, the Diskwento Caravan which runs until June 9, offers discounted products particularly on school supplies, school uniforms and several basic necessities and prime commodities.

Gawisan    informed DTI has already released SRP (suggested retail prices) for school supplies that should be posted by commercial establishments for the consumer’s reference.

DTI also has an online price monitoring system, the e -Presyo that can be downloaded to mobile phones.

Gawisan   said they are continuously conducting monitoring of establishment for price monitoring and product standard compliance. She called for the consumers’ support in ensuring that the products they are buying are within the SRP and of approved standards.

Consumers and parents must always check the products they are buying in terms of prices, quality and standards, and to ensure such, they must go or buy on known reliable establishments, she advised.

For school supplies, consumers must check the quality of pad papers and notebooks and if it complies with the number of pages as written in the cover. Consumers must also look into brand name, trade mark, name of manufacturer and its address.

For more information and queries, consumers can visit the DTI offices nearest them. -- JDP/CCD-PIA CAR and Harley Sibuma