DTI in Western Mindanao, now certified ISO 9001

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 27, 2010) – The International Standards Organization has conferred the ISO 9001:2008 certification to the Department of Trade and Industry in Western Mindanao for its excellent services.

The ISO is an organization that sets standards in many businesses and technologies, including computing and communications.

“The awarding is the long-awaited culmination of almost two years of painstaking efforts to come up with a quality management system that finally withstood the rigorous assessment process and found to be in full conformity with the ISO standards,” said Nazrullah Manzur, the regional trade director.

He said Renato Navarette, the managing director of the Certification International Philippines, Inc., awarded ISO certificate to DTI in Zamboanga City. Manzur said the ISO certification is a major milestone for his office and should translate to better services to its external and internal customers.

“The quality policy we drafted ourselves states that, we the DTI-9 (Region 9) team commits to champion business and consumers. That we shall help build an enabling environment for business to grow and for consumers to get best value for money as we foster professionalism, integrity and competence among ourselves in the DTI. And that we shall improve continually our quality management system to deliver better, faster and more efficient services to our clients,” Manzur said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: DTI Seizes, Destroys Sub-Standard Christmas Lights In Kidapawan City

Philippine authorities confiscated Thursday, December 4, 2008 assorted Christmas lights which did not pass the quality standard set by the Department of Trade and Industry in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato province. The local DTI office says the lights do not have the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) requirement. The sub-standard Christmas lights were destroyed in public and officials warn traders and store owners to comply with the DTI requirements. The campaign is headed by the DTI-Kidapawan and the Local Price Coordination Council. Sub-standard Christmas lights are often the cause of fire because of its poor quality.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geonarri Solmerano).

DTI To Hold Intellectual Property Seminars In Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 16, 2008) - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to conduct a series of seminars on intellectual property in key cities in Western Mindanao.

Intellectual property (IP) refers to any creations of the mind, inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images and designs that are used in commerce.

Hermie Cuevas, chief of DTI’s Business Development Division, said the seminars seek to increase awareness of IP among the region’s stakeholders, primarily the SMEs, inventors, members of the academe, research organizations, and local government units.

Cuevas expressed confidence that by the end of the two-day seminars, the participants will have a clearer understanding of intellectual property rights; a better appreciation of the system that protects IP holders from unauthorized reproduction of their products, inventions, literary works or trademarks; and, a greater awareness of existing laws governing IP.

Resource persons coming from the Intellectual Property Office in Manila will be the main speakers of the seminar. They will also provide IP clinic for individuals or organizations who would be interested to apply for IP registration during the seminar.

Cuevas said registration to the seminars is free, but on a first-come, first- served basis.

The seminar schedules are as follows: Pagadian City – August 19-20, 2008; Zamboanga City – September 18-19, 2008. Dipolog City had its seminar conducted successfully on August 13-14.

He said those who are interested to attend the seminar may call these telephone numbers for more details: DTI-Pagadian – (062) 214-3326 or 214-2516 and can look for Cef Rubio; DTI-Zamboanga City – (062) 991-2704 or 991-2705 and may get in touch with Engr. Al Lipae or Roger Sarsalejo.(Lowell Vallecer)

New Techonology, Creativity Top Agenda At ICT Exhibit In Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 01 Aug) - The Philippines’ largest annual ICT exhibit and conference will highlight a new focus on technology and creativity in 2008.

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, said the event will highlight technology and creativity as important value propositions when taking ICT businesses in the global market.

The event, dubbed as “e-Services Philippines: 8th Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition” will be held on February 11-12 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila.

To underscore this, the fair will also feature best-of-breed players from sectors such as: business processes/knowledge-based offshore work; contact centers, creative e-services (digital animation, wireless application, games development); health information management; information technology outsourcing, e-nablers (companies that provide IT infrastructure); e-novators (schools/institutions with innovative IT projects); e-citizens (government agencies providing online, interactive & transactional services); and other e-services like IT solutions & project management, design services, engineering & graphic design.

The theme in 2008 focuses on new supplier geographies with unique service offerings specifically centers of excellence on specific ICT areas.

“Just in the last six months or so, we’ve seen a big shift in the marketplace in terms of awareness of the Philippines and the BPO sector opportunity. Of particular interest is the increased understanding of its potential for higher value BPO, KPO, and skills-based BPO work products, such as F&A,” said David Kinnear, president and CEO of DDC HRO and head of the BPO Council, a newly formed initiative of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce in New York and a joint initiative of the Chamber and the New York Trade Office and the Philippine Consulate General.

In a marked convergence of opinion following e-Services Philippines Conference 2007 in Manila, leading industry experts indicated their positive outlook for the Philippines’ growing role in the global BPO sector and the opportunity for economic growth this will create.

Jojo Aquino, managing director of NeoIT concurs in the upside for F&A, “F&A is the next big wave for the Philippines. Captive centers in the country have long done accounting-related work but the growth of 3rd party providers supporting international clients needs to be faster.”

“The rapid growth of the BPO industry in the Philippines is a result of highly successful explorations by US business in the past 5 years. The effectiveness of the Philippine workforce in handling customer service, HR, IT services and other functions shows that supporting US business needs from this country is the right thing to do,” noted Russ Metcalf, managing director of NeoIT.

From the past few years, the number of jobs in the BPO has jumped from just 2,000 to over 200,000 with a 48% increase in activity in the last year alone. Of particular significance also to the growth of the Philippines’ overall economy is the 3-4 additional jobs created for every one BPO job – with attractive growth anticipated in all support sectors.

By 2010, the industry is projected to grow to US$12.4 billion and increase its workforce to 920,000.

“e-Services Philippines is an opportunity to convene together the Philippines’ best and brightest from the ICT sector as well as leaders and stakeholders from the international ICT community,” according to Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, also executive director of CITEM.

Past key speakers for e-Services Philippines were Ralph Schonenbach of the Trestle Group, UK and Kiran Karnik of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), India ; Chris Sacca, Google senior exec and founder of GoogleTalk; Avinash Vashistha, author of “Offshore Nation”; Chris Beshouri of McKInsey; Eisaku Oshima, president of WeServ Japan; Nigel Roxburgh, founding director of National Outsourcing Association (UK).

It was also the venue for the C-Level Summit in 2006, an international networking event for leading C-Level (e.g. CEO, CTO, CFO) The show, Agoncillo-Reyes, said is also an opportunity for “best-of-breed” ICT players from Asia to promote their products, network, and develop partnerships with leading global companies.

The e-Services Philippines Conference will have presentations of buyers of outsourcing services from banking, telecommunications, and IT sectors, BPO service providers (voice, non-voice and IT outsourcing), international consulting and research groups. It will also present case studies from the Philippines, India, Asia, Central/Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

As part of the show’s international promotions and activities, best-of breed players from the Philippine software development industry and wireless applications participated in Software Development Expo in Japan and CommunicAsia Singapore.

Following this are: e-Services Philippines business mission in the United States and Canada as well as the Philippine participation in Games Convention Asia in Singapore for the country’s best-of-breed game development companies and in American Health Information Management Association Convention & Exhibit in the United States for medical transcription.

The trade event is supported by Philippine industry associations namely Animation Council of the Philippines, Game Developers Association of the Philippines, Philippine Business Processing Association, Contact Center Association of the Philippines, Design Process Council, Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, and Philippine Software Industry Association, according to PRWeb.

Smart Bro, Inireklamo!

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Jun) – Posibleng malagay sa iskandalo ang Smart Communications dahil sa pagbebenta nito ng mga personal computers na may tatak na Intel Pentium 4 processor sa kabila ng Celeron lamang ang gamit nito sa mga PC sa ilalim ng Smart Bro internet.

Inireklamo ang naturang PC dahil sa sobrang bagal nito. Kahit ikabit pa umano sa broadband o DSL connection ng PLDT at ibang Internet server ay wala rin epekto.

Unang inalok ng Smart Bro sa mga kliyente ay pawang mga IBM computers, subalit sa dakong huli ay tila “generic” na ang mga piyesa ng kanilang PC na ang pangalan ay “VIPER” at Samsung naman ang monitor.

Patuloy rin umanong isinasatabi ng mga customer service representatives nito ang maraming reklamo ukol sa nasabing mga computers.

Hindi naman mabatid kung alam ng Intel o kung may pahintulot ang Smart at ang supplier nito ng mga VIPER computers na gumamit ng sticker na may tatak “Intel Pentium 4” sa kanilang produkto kahit na Celeron ang processor ng mga ito.

Maging ang karton ng CPU ay may tatak rin P4 na sa uang tingin ay mapagkakamalang Pentium 4, subali’t “Made In China” naman ang nakatatak ditto.

Idudulog umano sa Department of Trade and Industry ang nasabing reklamo.

Ibinibenta ng Smart ang VIPER computer nito kasama ang Internet commection bilang package sa halagang halos P21,000 sa loob ng isang taon. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Pushes For Halal Labels On Foods

A minaret of a mosque in southern Philippines. Manila is pushing for Halal labeling on food products and Halal corners in supermarkets. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Philippines’ effort to put in place the general guidelines or standards in the production, preparation, packaging, labeling and handling of “Halal” foods is expected to benefit Filipino consumers, particularly the country’s over 10 million Muslim population.

Regional trade chief Naz Manzur said this will also open new opportunities for food manufacturers, traders and exporters. They will now have access to the huge world trade for Halal food products estimated at over $580 billion annually today.

“The absence of standards on Halal food put the Muslim consumers in the country at a great disadvantage as it restricts their choices of food for their dietary requirement,” he said during a consultation of Halal foods Saturday in Zamboanga City.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Western Mindanao has also urged operators and owners of major grocery stores and supermarkets in Zamboanga City to set up Halal lanes or corners in their stores to cater to the fast growing demand for Halal certified products in the domestic market.

Sitti Amina Jain, DTI assistant regional director, said that aside from food, there is also a huge market for non-food Halal products that include cosmetics, perfume, toiletries, body care pharmaceuticals, herbal and healthcare products. There are also many business opportunities for fashion accessories and apparel, food processing plants and abattoirs, in service industries and in many other industries, she said.

The concept of opening Halal lanes, aside offering new business opportunities, is in line with the DTI’s mandate under the Consumer Act of the Philippines to safeguard consumers against misrepresentation, mislabeling and the fraudulent use of the Halal logo in products sold in the market.

The Halal lane initiative was well-received by the representatives of the 13 grocery stores and supermarkets in the city who attended the meeting but asked that they be given time to set up the lanes as the work entails lots of logistical support.

If this initiative pushes through, Halal lanes or corners shall have been installed in major grocery stores and supermarkets in Zamboanga City by October, in time for the celebration of the National Consumers’ Month.

Halal is meat that has been slaughtered in the manner prescribed by the Shari’a. The method of slaughtering all animals excluding fish and most sea-life is known as dhabiĥa, meat prepared in this manner is then considered Halal.

The Qur’an provides certain guidelines for the Muslim believers to strictly adhere to products, especially food products that are produced and prepared following the tenets of the Muslim sacred scriptures. Muslims are to use and consume only Halal food - that which is permissible and lawful, and avoid anything that is considered Haram (forbidden) and Najis (unclean).

“Food products produced, prepared and handled following Halal standards are assured to be of the highest quality, thus benefiting not only the Muslims but also the non-Muslim consumers as well,” Manzur said.

The DTI said it will also organize a Halal Consumer Group to help the government in its advocacy for Halal and for networking purposes. (Lowell Vallecer)

Zamboanga Firms Join National Trade Fair

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Several companies from the Zamboanga Peninsula region have confirmed their participation in this year’s National Trade Fair in Manila.

The Department of Trade and Industry said among the firms which will participate in the trade fair are YY Sea International, Mega Fishing Corporation, Tito Mike’s Food Company, Revil Crafts and Fashion Accessories and ADS Bamboo Craft.

These firms are regular participants to the NTF and are consistent top sellers in the categories of food, gifts, toys and house wares. The regional participants were also recipients of the coveted Best Dressed Booths awards in the previous NTF competitions.

The NTF 2007, according to its organizers, will highlight the country’s unique warmth and color through a fascinating array of arts and crafts made by Filipino artisans across the whole breadth of the Philippine archipelago.

“NTF 2007 is expected to depict and to celebrate the unique Filipino lifestyle”, said executive director Fe Aragoncillo, of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

This year’s trade fair will occupy three huge exhibition halls at the SM Megamall from March 14-18 and is expected to draw thousands of local and foreign buyers.

NTF is considered as the most important domestic marketing activity in the Philippines spearheaded by CITEM, an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It provides the perfect venue for the country’s small enterprises to get noticed by exporters and distributors, both local and foreign.

NTF bridges the SME exhibitors to buyers through pre-arranged business matching sessions thereby opening vast opportunities for them to create or expand their market niches here and abroad. With NTF’s help, many SMEs have graduated to become big, profitable ventures according to CITEM.

This NTF 2007 will also highlight products produced under the so-called One Town, One Product (OTOP) program of President Gloria Arroyo.

To further entice buyers and visitors to the fair, other activities will be conducted side by side with the fair. These include livelihood seminars to be conducted in cooperation with the Cottage Industry Technology Center (CITC) and Philippine Chamber of Handicraft Industry (PCHI).

Also, the ASEA Japan Center (AJC) will conduct a packaging seminar for the exhibitors. This is to introduce new packaging ideas and technologies that will further boost the global competitiveness of Philippine-made products.

The DTI’s Bureau of Domestic Trade (BDT) will create special raw materials setting for seashells, woody vines, and climbing bamboo.

The setting will also include new process and applications of said raw materials. For those searching for suppliers of raw materials, BDT personnel at the fair site can help them access the Bureau’s extensive database of reliable raw materials suppliers in the country.

NTF 2007 is expected to surpass the P82.44 million sales and 20,000 visitors generated in last year’s NTF.

Aragoncillo said those interested to join the trade fair can go to the nearest DTI office or call the Special Projects Division, CITEM at Tel: (632) 8312336 and 831-2201 extensions 261 and 263; or fax them as (632) 832-3985 / 834- 0177. (Lowell Vallecer)

Japan-Inspired Trade Program Now In Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Lowell Vallecer / 09 Jan) - “If they were able to make it succeed in Japan, in Thailand and even in the other parts of the Philippines, there is no reason why it shouldn’t succeed in Muslim Mindanao”.

This was the challenge posed by Assistant Secretary Maritess Maguindra, of the Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM), to participants who attended the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Strategic Planning Conference held recently at the Grand Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City.

The planning conference was attended by OTOP point persons from all the provinces under the ARMM. Maguindra said OTOP is all about rural enterprise development. OTOP’s success, she said, could very well address the economic underdevelopment in the ARMM just as it helped in Japan where the idea first started.

The paucity of gainful employment and economic activities in the ARMM are among the reasons why the Muslim Mindanao region is among the most impoverished and troubled in the country, Maguindra said.

The adoption by the ARMM provinces of the OTOP program as part of its small and medium enterprises development strategies, made it possible for this priority economic program of the national government to reach even the Philippines’ southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi which is under the administrative jurisdiction of the ARMM.

The identified provincial OTOP products in the ARMM provinces include rubber for Basilan, seaweeds for Tawi-Tawi and cassava for the provinces of Sulu and Maguindanao. Lanao’s OTOP is yet to be confirmed. The selection of the OTOP product or services is based primarily on the availability and reliability of supply of indigenous raw materials as well its marketability.

Dr. Sitti Amina Maluddin-Jain, DTI Assistant Regional Director for Western Mindanao, revealed that since the inception of the OTOP program in the last quarter of 2004, there are now 79 identified provincial OTOP products all over the country, except the ARMM. With the recent inclusion of the five provincial OTOP products in the ARMM provinces, the total number is now placed at 84, Jain said.

Jain suggested that the ARMM should adopt Halal Food Products as its regional model OTOP. ARMM is in the best position to pursue and promote halal food as majority of its populace are Muslims who adhere to the strict requirements on food preparation based on the teachings of the Quran, she said.

OTOP is patterned after the One Village, One Product (OVOP) project in Japan. The project was a huge success that it was soon copied in Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other Asian countries. It was adopted as a priority economic program by the Arroyo administration in 2004.

To ensure its success, OTOP-Philippines offer a comprehensive package of assistance via a convergence of services from local government units, national government agencies and the private sector. These include business counseling, training, and product development, introduction of appropriate technologies, financing and marketing.

The DTI is tasked to advocate the program and provide the necessary support to the local government units together with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Land Reform, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Tourism and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority.

However, the program’s success relies much on the dedication, commitment and involvement of the city, provincial or municipal chief executives as they take the lead role in identifying, developing, and promoting a specific product or service which has a competitive edge for their respective area. (The author writes for the Department of Trade and Industry in Western Mindanao)

Seaweed Farmers Search For Greener Pastures (First of Three Parts)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Uly Israel / 01 Nov) - People from the coastal villages tend to flock in the highly urbanized Metro Manila or would sell or mortgage their land to find work abroad in search for their dreams of a decent and comfortable life.

And little did they know that such dreams are within reach even without moving out because there are always opportunities, said Engineer Isidro D. Eijansantos, Jr., a strategic planner from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-Zamboanga City).

But he said opportunities, however, must be exploited to the fullest,

Philippine archipelago with its long shoreline situated near the equator is blessed with a high level of biodiversity of marine life. There is a great treasure that can be unlocked in the country’s marine resources and one of the relatively unexploited treasure chests is seaweed farming – a potential source of wealth that can be replenished with the use of available technology, Eijansantos said.

“With the rich marine resources at our disposal, opportunities abound for everyone to partake in the exploitation of these resources,” he said.

One such opportunity came into being when Dr. Maxwell Doty, a professor of the Department of Botany at the University of Hawaii conducted a research on the natural stock of seaweeds, specifically the Eucheuma variety in the Philippines in 1965, Dr. Sitti Amina M. Jain said in her recently published book, “The Seaweed Industry: Exploring an Alternative to Poverty”.

Seaweeds usually grow in abundance wildly in the southern provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; these were harvested by fishermen in the areas and sold to traders. As demand grew, stock of fresh and dried seaweeds dwindled in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1968, researches on seaweed production and propagation were conducted by a team of researchers from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), University of Hawaii and Marine Colloids International, Inc. which led to the introduction of the successful seaweed culture technique in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

In 1972, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Zamboanga fishermen started the first Euceuma commercial farms in the country. Then in 1978, seaweed farming expanded to other areas reaching as far as Bohol, Cebu, and the Leyte-Samar area.

Since then, the seaweed industry has been the lifeblood of an estimated 180,000 farmers directly dependent on seaweed culture nationwide. In the Zamboanga Peninsula alone, latest estimates indicate that seaweeds farming alone benefits 24,712 farmers, providing a source of livelihood for over 130,000 people.

The contribution of the industry to peace and development initiatives particularly in the conflict areas in the region including Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu has been significant, said Dr. Jain, who is also the Assistant Regional Director of DTI-9.

The USAID-Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM) reported that in year 2003 the agency was able to provide livelihood to about 24,000 former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants who venture into seaweed farming.

Dr. Jain said most of the former Muslim secessionists turned to seaweed culture as a means of subsistence, since the vast shorelines of Zamboanga Peninsula offered them the opportunity to engage in seaweed farming and since farming technology was readily available and could be easily learned and adopted.

The seaweeds industry has evolved into a multi-million dollar export business. The industry has spawned an increasing number of traders and exporters. The huge demand for seaweeds –raw dried seaweeds (RDS), semi-processed and refined – in the world market opened up huge potential income for seaweed growers.

In 2001, the Philippines exported 118,460 metric tons (MT) of RDS valued at US $ 131.6 million. The country’s export rose to US $153,2 million of 128,618 (MT) of RDS in 2005.

Indeed, DTI-Zamboanga City and Tawi-Tawi have made seaweeds as top priority product for development and promotion under the One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) program of the Arroyo Administration. Under the OTOP program, players in the production, marketing and distribution of the chosen product get assistance from financing, technical to fiscal incentives from various line agencies of the government.

"Zamboanga City is without doubt an ideal place for seaweed farming for the coastal dwellers," DTI-Zamboanga City said in its primer, a concept paper which focuses on seaweed industry in the city.

"These marine resources gave us unlimited potential, and if used wisely and effectively, will translate to a better quality of living for our people. Seaweed could bring any individual to life full of luxury and comfort due to its lucrative earnings, either fresh or dried,” DTI added.

USES OF SEAWEED

Seaweed is a microscopic algae classified into four classes according to pigment coloring. Most of the red colored seaweeds contain carrageenan which has numerous uses. Carrageenan is a jelly-like substance extracted with alkaline water from red seaweeds. It is used mainly in products that need gelling, suspending, thickening or water holding properties.

In the food industry, carrageenan is used as stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, and filler and gelling agent for dairy-based products such as cheese, ice cream yogurt, butter, sausages, part thickener.

For the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as cosmetics, capsules, vitamins, bacteria, culturing media, shampoo, lotion cream, lipstick, soap and many more. For the general industry, it is an additive for paper, textile, photo film, toothpaste, shoe polish, fish/meat canner, ceramics, and pesticide and food paste.

Because of its many uses for industrial, pharmaceutical, and food industries, its demand in the world market continues to grow by 5 percent annually, DTI said.

As of 2003, the world demand stood at 5 million metric ton, while the supply gap stood at 2 million metric ton or 40 percent, a huge supply gap to fill, DTI added. (Mindanao Examiner/to be continued)