By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual “challenged” the regional DTI office to come up with an innovation that will lead to the mass production of the hand-woven textiles.
“My challenge to the region, the DTI-6, is to probably go beyond the production of this specialty garments… You can introduce innovation on how to mass produce these (hablon, patadyong) products,” Pascual said during the joint launching of the regional DTI office’s Regional Inclusive Innovation Center (RIIC) and the Integrated MSME Management Information System (iMMIS) on June 8.
He explained that specialty garments, despite their appeal in the export market, may be financially out of reach for many Filipinos because they “tend to be expensive.”
Pascual expressed his hope that the region’s hand-woven fabrics can also offer a diverse and versatile option for our everyday Filipino clothing, similar to the way batik is worn and enjoyed by Indonesians.
He admitted that he has not yet given proper attention to the idea of mass production but said he would coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to address the need for raw materials, particularly cotton.
Pascual said the production of the specialty garments should also be improved to meet the demand of the export market.
“Ang kailangan yung production maitaas kasi kung mag i-export ka, yung volume malaki. Minsan dun tayo nagkukulang. Hindi natin na memeet yung volume required by the export market,” the DTI chief explained.
