During the recently held State of the Region Address (SORA) at the RDC-NEDA Conference Hall in Baguio City, Department of Trade and Industry-CAR Regional Director Myrna P. Pablo reported through an online conference the highlights of the 2019 accomplishments of CAR in the implementation of the 2017-2022 Regional Development Plan’s programs and projects for the expansion of economic opportunities in the sectors of agriculture, industry and services. As Chair of the Economic Development Committee, Pablo reported that employment rate increased to 96.5 percent in 2019 and based on data for the first to third quarters of 2019, the average employment increased, even as average employment under the agriculture sector was down. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on our local economy, Pablo said that the Econ-Dev agencies shall prioritize assistance and capability building for small businesses and displaced workers this year.
On the performance of the agriculture sector in 2019, Pablo said that the production of palay and corn increased, but the fisheries sector suffered a decline of 5%. Said increase in Palay and Corn production according to Pablo are due to the use of hybrid varieties, new technology, growth promoters and less damages during calamities however, there was also lower production for some poultry and livestock products. The Econ-Dev’s report on the industry and services through data on PEZA, SEC and DTI registrations reveals that encouraging investments and entrepreneurial activity in CAR paid off as there was an increases in investments in 2019 with PEZA having new investments amounting to 40.23 million pesos. There was an increase in employment in PEZA and DTI-assisted MSMEs rose in 2019 according to Pablo and with a reported displacement of workers this year, some MSMEs saw opportunities to create new business and innovate and improve their businesses to survive the pandemic.
For the tourism sector, Pablo noted that the total number of tourists declined by 26% except for the provinces of Apayao, Benguet, and Mountain Province and she said this may be attributed to improved data collection from tourism establishments, new tourism product offerings, continuous promotion of tourist sites, and participation in and hosting of events and conferences.
On the development of micro, small to medium enterprises (MSMEs), the DTI, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Agriculture all increased their efforts in the previous year to strengthen our MSME sector and for their part, Pablo said DTI focused on the grassroots in 2019, as it continued to increase its Negosyo Centers, and rolled out its Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay program in the region’s 4th to 6th class municipalities, as well as the 2019 GREAT Women Project II and the INREMP LES 2 with DENR. It also continued the implementation of its effective strategies, such as the OTOP Next Gen, SSF, industry cluster enhancement, and Kapatid Mentor Me.
For its part, Pablo said the DOST took the lead in advancing technology adoption and innovation, and intensified its implementation of the DOST-SETUP and Community-Based Project (CBP). Adding the 50 firms it assisted in 2019, the agency was able to assist a total of 535 firms through the DOST-SETUP since 2002. It was also able to provide assistance to MSMEs seeking to improve the quality and marketability of their products through its techno-trainings, and the Regional Standard and Testing Laboratory (RSTL).
In partnership with the academe, Dir. Pablo reported that DTI have established venues through which they can assist clients in developing and adding value to their products, by keeping abreast of the latest in technology such as access to Fabrication Laboratories and the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC). On the part of DA, Pablo reported that the agriculture sector ensures its annual allocation for Research & Development to increase stakeholder engagement in innovation and R&D.
On how far the RDC Econ-Dev Committee accomplished their targets for LGU competitiveness under Chapter 16 of the 2017-2022 Regional Development Plan, Pablo said that among the six provinces, only Mountain Province was able to attain the first goal of increased CMCI overall raw scores for at least half of a province’s LGUs. The number of LGUs from CAR included among the top one-third LGUs in the CMCI also went down in 2019. However, more CAR LGUs joined the ranks of the middle third LGUs, with the provinces of Abra, Benguet and Mountain Province represented by seven municipalities each.
For its strategic directions and priorities for 2020, Pablo stated that because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the community quarantines that have been imposed on our region, they have implemented and introduced new innovations to cope up with existing programs that make them more responsive during these uncertain times. Such program is the Rolling Store which was conceived by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and DTI at the onset of the Pandemic in March 2020 with the objective of bringing the basic necessities and essential products closer and safer to the barangays/consumers and sparing them from the burden of traveling to the central business district for their needs.
With the imposition of enhanced and general community quarantine in Luzon, Pablo also mentioned that LGUs and agencies like DTI, DOLE, DOH, and DOT continue to conduct joint inspections to ensure adherence to minimum required safety protocols
With the affected MSMEs which suffered at least Php 1.075 billion in foregone income due to mandatory closures during the ECQ, Pablo reported that they have assisted them through the P3 CARES or COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises, a DTI program implemented by Small Business Corporation for Micro and Small Enterprises. Through this, MSMEs were able to avail of interest-free loans to help them bounce back and recover and as of July 27, 2020, Pablo said that the total amount of loans approved is P23.16M of which P7.65M was released to 91 MSMEs.
For the region’s fisherfolks who incurred massive losses in the course of this pandemic, interventions like the Ahon Lahat, Pagkain Sapat Kontra sa COVID-19 or ALPAS COVID-19 were also provided according to Pablo to ensure the resilience of the agriculture sector and to guarantee food security amidst the threat of a possible tightening of global food supply chains.
Noting that the vulnerable sectors as our society evolves into the new normal the RDC Econ Dev Chair said that the national government will keep on implementing programs under the “Bayanihan Heal as One Act” as a region.
“We will give due priority to the agriculture and MSME sectors in providing financial and technical assistance and support, and ensure the awareness, safety and protection of the consuming public through advocacy and enforcement. Encouraged by the expansion of our domestic markets and increasing patronage of local products, we shall pursue product development and promotion with the Filipino consumer in mind” Pablo promised.
Efforts meant to improve the competitiveness of the region shall also remain uninterrupted Pablo assured saying they shall work harder this year to achieve our competitiveness targets.
With the tourism sector as one of the hardest hit due to the pandemic, Pablo gave assurance that the Cordillera Regional Development Council’s Economic Development Sector with be “rethinking and reformulating its strategies, as travel restrictions will likely prevail during the remaining months of the year. 2020 was indeed an interesting and trying year for us, but the Cordilleran has always been known to withstand adversities because we are resilient” Pablo concluded.**
