ILOILO CITY — Presidential Consultant for Western Visayas Jane Javellana said her office is ready to connect the region’s micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) to government agencies so they could avail of services intended for them.
Speaking during the second quarter general assembly meeting of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Iloilo, which was held at the City Hall Penthouse on Tuesday afternoon, Javellana recalled that in the past, their problem was that “they could not maximize the assistance extended by government agencies.”
In February this year, she said, her office, in tandem with the Department of Trade and Industry, conducted a consultative meeting, during which concerns on product enhancement and packaging were raised.
Javellana also said that she is pushing for a comprehensive study of the Iloilo International Port Complex located in Loboc, La Paz so they could come up with a position paper and secure the needed assistance from the government with the help of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.
“The main source of income of Iloilo is trading. Unfortunately, products (are) coming in from Cebu and Manila, so (these are) additional costs for our business sector,” she said. “We don’t have industrial zones here, so it is important that we have a port with international standards.”
She said it is high time that the port is improved, especially in the third quarter of this year, because vessels belonging to China’s largest container ship company, which is also the 20th largest in the world, will dock directly from Guangzhou to Iloilo City.
Javellana will visit the Philippine Ports Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority to discuss the plan for the port and secure the necessary documents. (Perla Lena/PNA)
