By Perfecto Raymundo, Jr. – PNA News
MANILA — Amid preparations for gift-giving this Yuletide season, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday called on consumers to buy Filipino-made products and craft to support small, crafts-based businesses.
“As an alternative to buying imported products, we should buy local in the sense that we’re promoting social entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship in general. In this way, we are supporting the growth of these small businesses and helping the local economy,” Belmonte said in an interview.
She cited as an example the Louie Bayong brand made in Quezon City, which manufactures bags based on the traditional “bayong” style.
The brand, she said, has used “technology to modernize traditional skills and sell to the younger market”.
Due to its success, the enterprise is able to support livelihood programs in Quezon City by providing an additional source of income to indigent residents from different villages in the city.
Belmonte has also partnered with the Quezon City Tourism Council to promote products under the banner “Sariling Atin, Sariling QC”.
“We are not only helping to provide employment but also promoting products that people from Quezon City can be proud of,” she said.
As part of her campaign to advance entrepreneurship, particularly among women in Quezon City, Belmonte has also spearheaded the Lipad Pinay program in partnership with Spark Philippines and SEAOIL Foundation to invest in female micro-entrepreneurs coming from the poorest barangays in the city.
Participants have created Christmas lanterns, handmade bags, homemade food, and artisan home decorations that are being sold at bazaars and trade fairs around the metropolis.
Earlier this month, the Lipad Pinay products, along with the Louie Bayong brand, were among the items featured in the Kabuhayan National Livelihood Trade Fair in Manila.
