WEAVING communities in Bohol are starting to recover after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the province.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 Director Asteria Caberte said efforts are underway to revive the province’s weaving industry, particularly in Antequera, which was badly hit by the earthquake.
Antequera is Bohol’s basket weaving capital and is the supplier to Cebu’s gifts, toys and housewares sector.
“There was a zero operation in the first week after the earthquake but nine days after, the community started to return to weaving,” said Caberte.
She said weaving and handicraft production in Bohol is valued at P1.2 million to P2 million weekly. “The medium-term goal we have for the industry is for them to bounce back to normalcy,” said Caberte.
Aside from the help extended by the export industry and the Cebu business community, Caberte said international organizations like the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and GIZ were also quick to respond.
She said the GIZ, which has an existing partnership with the DTI for the ProGED program, is looking at harnessing the program to address the situation in Bohol.
DTI, through Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, also pledged to help in the recovery of Bohol’s weaving industry.
Caberte said Domingo recently visited the Raffia loom weaving facility of Tubigon, Bohol, whose shared service facility (SSf) is about to be launched.
The Tubigon facility is one of DTI’s priority projects under the SSF program and is one of the big facilities assisted by the department.
The project is a recipient of a P3-million DTI SSF funds which are used to purchase 15 units upright handlooms, accessories and laboratory equipment. DTI said this is part of their support to help improve the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises.
“We need to help them revive otherwise they wouldn’t be able to meet their requirements,” she said.
Caberte said the Tubigon Loomweavers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (TLMPC) is now a supplier of high-end quality raffia fabrics to big companies in Europe, particularly Hermes and Louis Vuitton.
This project, she said, is in partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, INTERLACE, a Cebu-based European exporter of high-end quality fabrics and the Local Government Unit of Tubigon.
TLMPC is also a beneficiary of a P3 million grant from the Department of Budget and Management. The grant was used to construct a building that houses the SSF facilities and equipment provided by DTI.