Before adjourning for the holidays, the Congress has recently approved two proposals seeking to create and strengthen partnerships with several civil society organizations (CSOs), local government units (LGUs), and business enterprises to develop local competitive products and services.
Approved by the committee are the proposed House Bill (HB) 1615 by Representatives Delphine Gan Lee and Orestes Salon and HB 1166 or “People’s Participation in Industry Cluster-Based Programs and Projects Act” authored by Representative Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba of Bukidnon’s 1st District.
When enacted into two new laws, the measure would ensure the continuity the “One-Town, One-Product” (OTOP), a priority program of the government that promotes entrepreneurship and creates jobs.
OTOP was inspired by Japan’s “One Village, One Product” which was replicated in other countries.
Each city and local chief executives, under the plan, would take the lead in identifying, developing, and promoting an individual product or service.
Acosta-Alba, author of HB 1166, said she is hopeful the bill will be passed into law by the 17th Congress since it failed to hurdle the Senate in the previous Congress although the House approved it on third and final reading.
“The proposal in its current form already that includes the inputs of government agencies and outputs of technical working groups (TWGs), and regular meetings were already conducted during the 16th Congress,” she emphasized.
Salon for his part mentioned that a counterpart bill has been filed in the Senate by Senator Joel Villanueva and is pending before the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.
According to Salon, the OTOP was designed for rural and regional development and considered as one of the government’s Anti-Poverty Programs and Projects (APP).
“However, OTOP was short-lived due to lack of funding,” said Salon.
To recall, OTP was adopted in 2004 through Executive Order No. 176 series of 2003 to encourage the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and stimulate economic activity at the local level, and create jobs in the countryside.
However, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) stopped the OTOP funding in 2011, and the Aquino administration continued the program.
To ensure the continuity of OTOP, members of the current Congress proposed that geographically neighboring LGUs integrate their local production forces such as workforce, materials, money, machine, and methods. Such set up is in agreement with the 1987 Constitution’s Article Ten, Section 13 which states that “LGUs may group themselves, consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, and resources for purposes commonly beneficial to them by law.”
An Industry Cluster Management Board (ICMB) must be established, under the emerging version of the House proposal wherein the ICMB must be composed of local chief executives of member-LGUs, and both DTI and Interior and Local Government Unit (DILG) provincial directors.
Representatives from authorized CSOs and businesses operating in member LGUs and the Cluster Advisory Committee must provide technical and policy guidance to the Board.
Industry cluster entrepreneurs may avail of low-interest government credit, preferential access to government-initiated promotion programs, and tax exemptions.
The bill also proposes a Cluster Common Fund to finance the operations of industry cluster-based programs and projects.
