A legislator from the Bicol Region pushes the revival of the country’s garment and textile industry, once a premier dollar earner, as part of a major effort by the Marcos administration to scale up Philippine exports and meet its export targets.
“The DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and BOI (Board of Investments) along with other concerned agencies need to work overtime with the private sector in revisiting the garment and textile industry roadmap under the PEDP (Philippine Export Development Plan) of the Marcos administration, with an eye to invigorating the clothing and apparel business—and reestablishing the Philippines’ presence in the world market as a major producer and exporter of these goods,” Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said.
“The government must take decisive steps to help this once sunshine $3-billion industry regain its footing, and revive the Philippines’ premier position in the lucrative global market, especially at this time when investors and enterprises are leaving No. 1 world garments producer and exporter China and relocating their businesses to our Asian neighbors like Vietnam and India,” Villafuerte added.
The lawmaker himself was engaged in the export business before he entered politics two decades ago.
He said the roadmap for higher and inclusive growth for the garments sector under the PEDP should be revisited with a view to reviving it, and to “sharpen anew our erstwhile global competitiveness in this business and entice foreign investors now leaving China to consider the Philippines as an ideal place in the region to relocate to and set up shop in.”
For starters, he said the Marcos administration should seriously consider the proposal of local industry players for the government to facilitate the construction of new textile factories, ahead of the anticipated increase in demand as soon as the Philippines forges a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) on apparel and other similar goods.
Villafuerte pointed out that Robert Young, president of the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) and trustee for the textile and fabric sector at the Philippine Exporters Confederation, was quoted as saying that his group has requested the government to build a pilot commercial-scale wearable textile factory to encourage foreign investors to similarly put up factories producing local fabric for exportable goods.
Villafuerte likewise asked the government to look into the FOBAP request for Manila to make a formal appeal to the EU to let the Philippines use imported raw materials while qualifying for zero duties as this proposed facility is still being built.
