ILOILO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that it has close to PHP100 million for the implementation of the shared service facility (SSF) project this year.
Under the project, machines and equipment are provided to micro, small and medium entrepreneurs for the purpose of improving the quality of their products, increase productivity and increase their income, DTI Regional Director Rebecca Rascon said Wednesday.
She explained that Western Visayas was apportioned PHP6.156 million for five SSF under its regular fund. These projects have already been evaluated. These are the Capiz engineered bamboo production in Capiz, loom weaving in Miagao, Iloilo and coffee processing in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
Moreover, this region was allotted PHP93 million from out of the PHP800 million that was apportioned to DTI through Senator Loren Legarda.
Projects to be funded from out of the budget should be for research and extension programs of state university and colleges (SUCs), school of living traditions to preserve the culture of indigenous people (IP), projects managed by the youth sector and other projects proposed by non-government organizationsand local government units, among others.
The big chunk of the fund was for Antique with PHP61 million while Iloilo has around PHP18.5 million. The remaining funds were spread among other provinces of Western Visayas.
Rascon explained that Antique got a bigger budget because the senator wanted each of the province’s municipalities to have an SSF.
Last week, she revealed that eight proposed projects have been evaluated with three each from Antique and Iloilo and two in Aklan. In the pipeline are another 10 proposals, she added.
She explained that proposals valued for less than PHP3 million will be evaluated by the Regional Technical Working Group (RTWG) while those costing more will be done by the national TWG. “It is not easy to pass because you have to satisfy the requirements of the shared service facility,” she said, adding that one of which is that the project should be supportive of the priority industries of the province”. (Perla Lena/PNA)
