By Genalyn Kabiling
In a bid to stimulate the economy, the government is vigorously promoting the “buy local” movement to support small businesses and enhance domestic tourism.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO/MANILA BULLETIN)
“As the country restarts the economy after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) is endeavoring to boost our local products and industries to drive growth,” Duterte said in his 12th weekly report to Congress.
“The DTI will launch a national media campaign to encourage Filipinos to support local products and services of MSMEs through its “Buy Local, Go Lokal!” campaign under the slogan ‘Shop Local. Eat Local. Travel Local. Buy Local. Go Lokal!’” he added.
The President said the buy local campaign will be “a call for Filipinos to patronize locally made products and boost domestic tourism.”
He noted that the “Go Lokal!” products will also be made available for online orders and delivery in partnership with Lazada.
In the same report to Congress, the President disclosed that the trade department has extended loan assistance to aid small businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus quarantine measures.
“Under its Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso or COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) Program, the DTI received a total of 9,817 inquiries from 5 June to 11 June, 2020, while the Small Business Corporation’s online application, which was launched on 8 June 2020, received a total of 753 loan applications,” he said.
“Of the total number of online applications, 75.2% (566) are from Luzon, 16% (121) from Mindanao, and 8.8% (66) from Visayas. To date, 12 loan applications with an aggregate amount of ₱1.220 million have been approved and released,” he said.
The government has gradually relaxed the quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and other places in the country, allowing more businesses to resume operations and reboot the stalled economy. The strict lockdown previously enforced by the government had forced some shops to scale down operations or close down as well as displaced many workers.
OneStore
Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Friday launched its OneStore City app which will allow locally produced products of small to medium businesses to be made available online.
The DOST said the app is intended to help both businesses and consumers due to the difficulties brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The new application for OneStore will provide a wider reach for locally produced products of micro, small, and medium enterprises that were assisted by the DOST in the regions through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP,” the DOST said.
“The app will enable easy transaction between sellers and buyers in the country since delivery will no longer be limited to logistic partners, thereby providing income to displaced workers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” it added.
The DOST said OneStore products will not only be available in urban areas but in all areas that can be reached by local transport. (With a report from Jeffrey Damicog)