C. Luzon MSMEs to benefit from community face mask project

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to lead the certification process to accredited local mask makers in the countryside. (Pexels photo)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Central Luzon stand to benefit from the implementation of the government’s community face mask project.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to lead the certification process to accredited local mask makers in the countryside.

DTI-Central Luzon information officer Warren Serrano said in a statement on Thursday their agency will identify the MSMEs, community organizations and partner sewers that can be included in the project.

Serrano also said the DTI will help in facilitating the coordination of manufacturers, MSMEs, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholars and community organizations for the production of face masks.

“This will ensure that local entrepreneurs will have the chance to earn and have a sure market for their products,” Serrano said.

Likewise, he said the DTI will also issue certifications to eligible participating manufacturers for the project.

“Face mask manufacturers are required to subcontract at least 40 percent of production to MSMEs and local organizations at a minimum rate of PHP6 per mask to ensure that small producers benefit from the project,” Serrano said.

He asked local face mask producers in the region to coordinate with the DTI office should they wish to be included in the project.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered concerned government agencies to pool their resources to produce and distribute free face masks to the public amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In his Memorandum Order 49, the President directed the DTI to be the lead implementing and coordinating agency for the production and procurement of the face masks.

Also ordered to work with DTI are the TESDA, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).

The project aims to provide 35 million locally manufactured face masks to indigent families particularly the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, especially those living in areas with high number of Covid-19 cases.

The undertaking also aims to reinforce non-pharmaceutical interventions to control the spread of the virus.