The city government of Davao, the Department of Trade and Industry-Davao (DTI-Davao), the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) are in talks for the creation of the Halal roadmap to facilitate certification of Halal products and services in Davao City.
“We are working with the city government of Davao right now to create a roadmap para isang direction ang lahat and then coming up with one certifying body that will be recognized by the government. So, everyone should be bringing one single logo,” said Dr. Roland T. Suico, president of DCCCII, in an interview.
Suico said with the roadmap the Halal certification will be government-led.
“Ongoing ang talks with the city and the one leading (talk) is the DTI. Nasa three discussions pa lang kami since last year,” he said.
He said with the roadmap, Halal certification will be more efficient.
“Right now, ang dami naming mga courtesy calls from different organizations and investors coming from outside. Ngayon ang concern nila pagpunta nila dito alam nila yung problema natin when it comes to Halal certification. Mahirap kasi so if you submit yourself for a certification pagka mali yung approach kasi hindi alam ang proper documentation and all and nagbabayad ka na ng certification fee, tapos at the end of the day hindi ka ma certify doon nagba back off yung mga businesses at ayaw magpa certify ng Halal,” Suico explained.
Suico also said that the chamber can just bring in the stakeholders, and get their input, but the regulating part should be the government.
“Ngayon wala kasing tumutulong sa ating MSMEs or even large organizations about Halal. What we can do sa chamber is to put all these stakeholders together and create the roadmap para alam natin yung, like kung gusto mong mag certify ito yung first step then second step para we are of the same page,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suico announced that DCCCII and MinDA will participate in a trade mission in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia next month focusing on the Halal industry.
Suico emphasized that the trade mission aims to be able to bring in products and services in the Philippines in terms of Halal and align the Halal certification and other things in the Philippines to harmonize that with the international market.
“Because the problem is we have so many products and services here in the Philippines, meron naman tayong certifying body the problem ang dami nila. Nakausap ko nga yung consul ng Indonesia ang problem nila if they will take some of our products kanino sila pupunta in terms of accountability? Should there be concerns later on the Halal because everyone is having their own logo for Halal. Sa kanila kasi isa lang and certifying body,” he said.
The Institute of International Culinary and Hospitality Entrepreneurship (ICHEF) is considered the first Halal-certified culinary school in the Philippines after it received a Halal certification from Prime Group of Companies LLC, a quality and compliance solutions provider based in Dubai in September 2022.
With the said certification, ICHEF can provide the proper information, implementation, and awareness of what is Halal all about.
