Heeding the government’s call to address the deficient supply of COVID-19 related products in the Philippines, many of the country’s manufacturers are undertaking re-purposing initiatives.The Board of Investments (BOI) is assisting manufacturers by helping them strengthen their capabilities, navigating them through as they re-purpose their existing product lines. Their work is part of a broader campaign to support businesses through the Covid-19 pandemic.BOI assistance focuses on the manufacturer’s strengths in product development, logistics, production systems, and skilled workforce. For example, alcoholic liquor used to create alcohol disinfectants, ready-to-wear garments transformed into protective uniforms, or even medical gloves fashioned from rubber balloons.In particular, BOI helps manufacturers by creating linkages between raw materials suppliers and manufacturers to ensure a steady supply of products needed to combat the pandemic.The work is already bearing fruit. Australian-based packaging firm Tacca Industries has announced that it plans to step up its role in the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Philippines. Tacca is hiring just under 100 new members of staff in the country as it makes the move, with the jobs based at their plant in Laguna.Firms interested in following in Tacca’s footsteps can book an appointment via BOI’s Facebook page to find out more about the help and incentives on offer. A dedicated specialist will help businesses strengthen their PPE related capabilities, navigating them through the process.Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo, said: “We are delighted to launch this initiative and look forward to working with manufacturers in the Philippines repurpose their production lines. This will be good for everyone – it will help manufactures expand their business while providing desperately needed Covid-19 products”Clem Tacca, CEO of Tacca Industries, said: “The number one priority is to keep the employment and keep people in jobs and this extra project that we will do in the mask material will be good for the economy and everybody in general. It’s crucial that health workers in the Philippines are cared for and making sure that they get the right equipment so that they are very safe and sound. That is also a priority which everyone in the Philippines has been raising with me and it’s something that we’ll bring into the country because of our name. We are already in contact with some people that the BOI has put us in touch with. BOI’s help has been invaluable.”
MAKATI CITY - The DTI is in the thick of preparations to revitalize manufacturing & embrace Industry 4.0, as it surges forward with its flagship industrial strategy which it introduced in 2016, the Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy or i3S.
Speaking at the recently held Manufacturing Summit 2019, DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez provided a detailed picture of the Philippine manufacturing sector’s performance since 2013. While the country’s manufacturing sector exhibited a slowdown in growth in the recent quarters of this year due mostly to the US-China Trade War overall global slowdown in growth, and rising global protectionism, he pointed out that looking at the bigger picture, Philippine manufacturing has been growing at a respectable rate, with manufacturing share-to-GDP remaining almost unchanged for the past few years. “Despite (the slowdown), we are enjoying fast growth due to domestic demand,” Trade Secretary Lopez declared.
“The bright spot is, our investments continue to grow,” Secretary Lopez mentioned, as he noted that significant increases in approved manufacturing investments were expected to expand production capacities, address supply chains gaps, and improve Global Value Chain Participation. Data shows that IPA-approved investments in 2016-2018 were at Php 730B, 57.3% higher than during the period 2013-2015. Moreover, growth in Board of Investments – approved manufacturing investments increased 8-fold: from 82% in 2016, it grew to 95% in 2017 then zoomed to 327% in 2018.
In order to revitalize Philippine manufacturing towards a sustainable and inclusive industrial development, Secretary Lopez laid down plans to address growth constraints and leverage government support. These include: HR development to upskill workers and increase productivity; small value chain interventions to address raw materials shortage; incentivizing energy technologies to help bring down power cost; logistics interventions to cut down red tape and standardize shipping cost; and countering unfair trade practices including smuggling and substandard and counterfeit goods through mandatory product certification.
He also gave the audience a peek at industry 4.0 readiness initiatives that the DTI is planning to do to prepare firms, industries, and workers for the future. These include the SME academy as training facility for 4IR technologies to upskill and reskill our workforce to be 4IR-ready; positioning the Philippines as an AI Center of Excellence; Industry 4.0 roadmaps for specific sectors, and an Industry 4.0 pilot factory to serve as a demonstration facility. “We have to increase domestic capacity to support the growing demand of our economy. We should be prepared,” Sec Lopez reiterated. “There is a need to revitalize the manufacturing sector. This is the sector that can create more jobs, better income for our Filipinos.” Sec Lopez concluded.
