DTI holds 4th Visayas-wide OTOP Fair in Cebu on Nov. 18-22

It’s three times the charm as the Visayan leg of the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines holds its 4th annual fair at SM City Cebu Atrium this November 18 to 22, 2009.

This five-day trade fair will display a wide array of exciting homegrown products from Central Philippines dubbed "Distinctly Visayas", according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the marketing arm of the OTOP.

From souvenir items, novelty items, gift items, home decors, natural fiber, processed food, footwear to wearables, the OTOP fair aims to promote native goods from the Visayan islands.

The Visayas Region composed of Regions 6, 7 and 8 have joined hands to come-up with this fair to provide opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and develop a new culture of local pride.
The three regions of the Visayas have again come together to form a united front, a Supra-region, complementing each other through the sheer diversity of each region's products and tourist destinations that have captured more than half of the country's foreign visitors in the country.
The OTOP Visayas Island Fair is an activity that aims to highlight the OTOP program, a flagship project of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with the Local Government Units (LGUs) as the implementing arm.

The OTOP Philippines project is a government program to strengthen countryside development by promoting entrepreneurship and creating jobs.

This marketing event also aims to generate significant sales; train exhibitors in dealing and negotiating with local and foreign buyers and exporters and develop new exporters from among the participants.

Under the OTOP, LGUs take the lead in identifying, developing and promoting a specific product or service, of which their areas have specific advantage.

OTOP-Philippines provides a comprehensive assistance package through a convergence of services from LGUs, national government agencies and the private sector. This includes business counseling, skills and entrepreneurial training, product design and development, appropriate technologies and marketing.

The DTI said the OTOP-Philippines is designed to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME's) in the manufacturing and marketing of distinctive products and services to a much better level and achieve measurable results.

DTI 7 regional and provincial offices adopt Knowledge Management

In order to better serve its clients, the regional and provincial staff of the Department of Trade and Industry Central Visayas Office (DTI 7) recently underwent a Knowledge Management (KM) Seminar Workshop in Cebu.

The workshop was made possible with the joint efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry and the German Technical Cooperation known as Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) under the Private Sector Promotion Program called the Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP).

With the theme “Making Knowledge Work for DTI- Region 7’s Development Cooperation Projects, the seminar workshop was meant to improve the DTI efficiency of service and quality of information given to clients.

Employees from the Department of Trade and Industry Central Visayas regional and provincial offices participated in the KM seminar workshop in consonance with improving the agency’s management system to increase efficacy of service and customer satisfaction.

Mr. Lorenzo Templonuevo, GTZ KM Specialist, facilitated the workshop through topics that include: KM Strategies, Interfacing of KM and Quality Management, Core Values that Promote KM Ethical Culture, Knowledge Creation, Sharing and Reuse, KM Audit, KM Road Mapping.

The DTI is one of the key agencies of the Philippine Government charged with the promotion of an economic and business environment conducive to the birth and growth of enterprises and supportive of a fair and robust trade of goods and services both from within and outside the country

The SMEDSEP is a technical cooperation project between the Republic of the Philippines and the Federal Republic of Germany conceived to help improve the Philippine business and investment climate for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Cebu is currently 4th best island in Asia

Cebu ranked no. 4 among Asian island destinations, according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which recently rleased the results of its World’s Best Awards 2009, a listing of the best hotels, airlines, cruises in islands and cities all over the world.

In the Condé Nast Traveler annual Readers’ Choice Survey, Cebu has occupied the seventh spot in the best island destination in Asia/Indian Ocean three times: in 2008 at 70.9, which is two points short of 2007’s 72.3 points and 2004’s 72.8 points.

Twice, it has been ranked 8th best island destination: in 2006 with 71.0 points and in 2005 with 69.5 in the same magazine survey.

Note that no other island in the Philippines has so far made it to the listing of Conde Nast Traveler or Travel + Leisure magazines

Both Travel + Leisure Magazine and Condé Nast Traveler are American publications based in New York.

Exporters' Expo in Cebu, August 27-30

Watch out for the Exporters' Expo on August 27-30 in Cebu.

More than 70 exporters in the country will unload their inventories for the local market at the least possible price during the activity.

Spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7), the event is slated at the SM City Cebu Atrium as part of the agency’s effort to help the ailing export sector amid the weak market interest due to the financial crisis.

Cebu, the furniture export capital of the Philippines accounting for about 60 percent of monthly exports, is feeling the brunt of the global financial crisis with foreign orders steadily declining.

The Exporters’ Expo is just one of the ways DTI assists exporters survive the crisis.

The event is also an opportunity for the local market to avail of the world-class furniture products at very affordable prices.

Aside from furniture products, the Exporters’ Expo will feature world-class products such as fashion accessories, gifts-toys-and housewares, among others.

The furniture manufacturers in Cebu is tapping the domestic market in order to survive but focus is on selling to institutional customers.

The four-day exposition is expected to attract buyers from all over the Philippines, as well as foreign tourists.

This is the first time that the government has extended its hand to invite exporters to join the Exporters’ Expo and allow local retail market to avail of the export quality products.

For more information on the Exporters’ Expo, interested parties may call on the DTI 7 Regional Office at 412-1868, 255-0036-37, or 412-1989 local 601 or 602.

Project Bayong Launch in Cebu

To provide a source of income for Filipinos affected by the global financial crisis, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) formally launched “Project Bayong” in Cebu on June 12 during the Kalayaan 2009, a Philippine Independence Day celebration.

During the trade and livelihood fair held at SM City Cebu on June 12 - 14, Bayong utility and fashion bags were on display and bayong weaving was demonstrated to the public.

Project Bayong highlights the hand-woven native bag made of pandan, rattan or buri. In the last four months (February-May) DTI initiated a series of product development trainings which include basic skills in bayong weaving, skills upgrading and dyeing techniques.

As of May 2009, Project Bayong has been rolled out to 11 municipalities in Central Visayas. Around 11 basic skills trainings, 5 trainings in dyeing techniques, 6 trainings in skills upgrading benefited 605 people.

The municipalities where trainings were held include Barili, Bogo, San Remegio, Sta Fe, Bantayan Island in Cebu; Manjuyod and La Libertad in Negros Oriental; Talibon, Bien Unido, Ubay in Bohol; San Juan, Siquijor in Siquijor.

Bonding with Teammates

"In order to accomplish the agency’s tasks and realize all the projects, the DTI needs enough manpower knowledgeable in imparting the necessary information to beneficiaries and skilled in supervising projects. Being a lean organization, all warm bodies available at the DTI will be utilized for the purpose. Thus, smooth coordination and good working relationship among members of the organization is crucial to the success of the projects. It is in this context that the need for Building Cross Functional Teams is deemed necessary."


That was the statëment made in the activity proposal, but the actual Tambuli beach activity in Cebu wasn't really sombre, subdued or structured. In fact, it was relaxing and "filling" (my stomach felt the food was certainly worth mentioning).