The Official Publication of the Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera (DTI-CAR) January-June 2011 Volume 3 No. 1

In this issue…. 3 Editorial 4-7 Abra : Enhancing the Local Muscovado Industry

8-9 Apayao : Project L.E.A.H. & Market Encounter in Luna

10-14 Baguio-Benguet : Veggie Noodle Sector Making its way to Market NERBAC Baguio-Benguet Launching

15 IP News

16-17 Ifugao : Striking while the iron is red hot

18-19 Kalinga : Home-based Snacks Processing: The Story of Thess and Nitz Veggie Chips

20-21 Mt. Province : Bontoc LGU at the On-set of Piloting LRED in Mt. Prov.

22-23 Metaphors

24-25 Diskwento Fever in the Cordillera is On The Region in Focus

26-27 DTI BENGUET CONDUCTS FASHION ACCESSORY TRAINING FOR PWD

28-29 Knowledge Management Training 30-31 DTI-CAR AWARDED AS BEST PER FORMING REGION & 2ND BEST REGIONAL FINANCE GROUP

32 DTI-CAR AMONG THE RED ORCHID AWARDEES OF 2011 33 PCPS-4 (Phase-4) 34 HR Corner 35 1st AGRIKULTURA TRADE FAIR 36 2011 Calendar of Events

Dept. of Trade & Industry Cordillera Administrative

Region Publisher

Editorial Board

Myrna P. Pablo Executive Editor

Carmelita C. Usman

Managing Editor

Editorial Board: Arell F. Banez

Renie M. Ramos Freda M. Gawisan

Valentin A. Baguidudol Grace F. Baluyan

Juliet P. Lucas Atty. Samuel D. Gallardo

Remedios F. Magno Lino D. Cungihan

Weaves is a bi-annual publica-

tion of the Department of Trade and Industry—Cordillera

Administrative Region

Volume 3 No. 1, 1st Semester 2011

WEAVES INSIDE

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Diskwento

The Department of Trade and Industry and businesses work hand in hand to offer the best value for consumers’ money through the availability of quality products at reasonable prices. Businesses are aware and responsive to consumer concerns and issues. Since its inception, Diskwento has slowly pene-trated the market as a byword among consumers, particularly those who have benefitted or are benefitting from the low pric-es of basic and prime commodities as well as among the busi-nesses who take the program as an opportunity to exercise their corporate social responsibility. Diskwento is a project of the Department of Trade and Industry that encourages businesses to directly grant consumer access to reasonably-priced goods and commodities. Consumers who were able to purchase goods and merchandise readily, at rea-sonable prices, are more than willing to patronize business es-tablishments that comply with Suggested Retail Prices, and offer concessions to their patrons. These establishments in turn gain not only additional customers, but are looked up in their communities as socially responsible partners to develop-ment. The year 2011 proved to be a busy year for the Diskwento Pro-gram. Last May, most of us witnessed the success of the Diskwento Fair in Baguio City. Though the promotion was limited, it was able to serve its purpose of providing quality goods at reasonable prices to targeted clients. It was also a venue for our SMEs to market their products. The Program progressed with the launching of the In-Store Diskwento Project in May. This Diskwento scheme was a part-nership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try-CAR and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board. To date, 52 business establishments all over the Cor-dillera Region participated in the project. Hard work and per-severance were required especially from the frontliners of DTI who convinced the businesses to participate in this endeavor. The efforts, however, proved to be worthy since increasing number of consumers can attest to the benefit of this undertaking. The In-Store Diskwento Project will run until October 15. Sure-ly, the beneficiaries will increase. Diskwento continues to evolve. Come July, the Department will bring the program closer to the people particularly to those who have limited ac-cess to goods and commodities. A caravan will be piloted in Itogon, Benguet and will be replicated in other CAR provinces. This time, major distributors of basic and prime commodities will be invited to bring their merchandise to identified areas.

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Abra, a landlocked province on the western side of the massive Cordillera Mountain Range in North-ern Luzon is composed of twenty seven (27) munic-ipalities, six (6) are considered lowland municipali-ties and the rest are upland municipalities. Majori-ty of the Abreños are engaged in farming and other livelihood activities such as production of bamboo-based products, wood-based products, loomwoven products, processed fruits, sugarcane-based prod-ucts and aqua-based activities as source of liveli-hood. Bangued, the capital town of the prov-ince,has adopted PROCESSED FOOD (Sugarcane-Based) as its One Town One Products/(OTOP) for promotion and development in the locality. The Abrenios are proud hard-working and resilient people with the difficulties encountered in life. Ma-jority of the residents of Agtangao Bangued are engaged in planting sugar cane, an industry they inherited from their ancestors. Most of them de-pend on sugarcane farming and muscovado pro-cessing as main source of their livelihood.The small

sugar cane farmers of Abra have now shown expertise in processing muscovado sugar in a conventional way and Barangay Agtangao became the destination of benchmarking activities of prospective micro-entrepreneurs from other provinces in Northern Luzon for the last two years. Despite the existence of the industry in the area, one would wonder why musco-vado sugar of Abra is not so popular in the marketplace when it is one of the best muscovado sugar that is naturally and organically grown. This might be due to the fact that small farmer-producers do not have access to the mainstream mar-ket. They only sell their products in their locality or at the Bangued Public Market wherein walk-in buyers purchase the prod-uct purposely for making native delicacies. For the past years, it was observed that some families are getting discouraged of the meager income derived from this tra-ditional livelihood. Some would say “it was not worth it”, that is a backbreaking activi-ty with very minimal return on their in-vestments. Likewise, it has been observed that the draft animals used in the field are getting older and weaker for two reasons – using them in the field during land prep-aration and at the same time, use them in

extracting cane juice during muscovado production. As a result of frustrations, some had abandoned this traditional means of livelihood. Nevertheless, farmers who believed that they can still save the muscovado industry united together and requested assistance from KAPPIA Network, Inc. headed by Sister Celerina Zabala, SSpS. The Network extends its all-out support to the muscovado sugar industry of the small farmers because it anticipated a great potential for this product especially now that peo-ple are more health conscious. KAPPIA Network conducted a study on their farming practices and marketing system. Furthermore, the network has conducted series of seminars on organic farming and technology on bio-organic fertilizer preparation as natural inputs to help improve land fertility. It had introduced the portable mechanized cane juic-er as an alternative to carabao-driven juice extrac-tor to allow their carabaos to rest. With the mecha-nized cane juicer, the efficiency in increasing juice extraction has improved its product with lesser wastage and time element. With this intervention, the sugarcane farmers of Agtangao are gradually realizing the potentials of

ENHANCING THE LOCAL

MUSCOVADO INDUSTRY

ABRA

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their sugarcane-based products. Currently, small sugarcane farmers are grouped to-gether and share their expertise in processing musco-vado sugar. It is their belief that organizing them-selves is the best way to upscale the local muscovado industry in Abra. Their initiatives can be more en-hanced thru the establishment of a common service facility that will ensure food safety to the consumers, and produce high quality muscovado sugar for the market. Various assistances from government agencies were

likewise provided to the producers of Agtangao. DOLE

provided them some processing tools and packaging

materials and assisted them in the registration of

their association. DOST granted loans to some SMEs

for the upgrading of their processing tools and equip-

ment. DTI conducted capability building trainings on

Good Manufacturing Practices and Entrepreneurial

Development and provided them marketing assis-

tances thru trade fairs and market linkaging.

With the assistance of the Philippine Development

Assistance Programme (PDAP) and other support

agencies like DTI, KAPPIA submitted a project pro-

posal entitled “Enhancing the Capability of Small

Farmer-Producers of Muscovado Sugar in Abra by Es-

tablishing a Common Service Facility and Market Ex-

pansion” to the Embassy of Japan in 2010. Fortunate-

ly, the project was approved and the fund was re-

leased last March 11, 2011. Construction of the

Mechanized Production Center is now on-going. It is

targeted that the center will be operational this com-

ing harvest season. The target beneficiaries of the

project are small farmer-producers of muscovado

Extracting sugarcane pulp with a dadapilan

They will be directly served by the project that will contribute to improvement of quality product, increased income through incremen-tal price of improved quality of muscovado sugar and enhanced sugarcane farming tech-nology and standardized muscovado pro-cessing. By extending technical, financial and managerial support to this industry, it is hoped that these small sugarcane farmers will even-tually improve their income and will have a better quality of life. The implementation of the project will con-

tribute to the realization of the vision of the

muscovado stakeholders in the province - “To

be known as the major producer of the best

quality muscovado in Northern Luzon”.With

the commitment of the muscovado producers

and stakeholders of working together towards

producing highly competitive muscovado sug-

ar to be marketed locally and abroad, ABRA

MUSCOVADO will have a niche’ in the global

marketplace in the future.

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ABRA

VEGGIE NOODLES PRODUCTION IN ABRA: GOING THROUGH A LOT It is apparently phenomenal that the whole Province of Abra is well supplied with “miki” noodles by its first local producer – Talledo’s Miki Commercial based in Baran-gay Mudiit, Dolores, Abra. As the owner and manager of the said firm, Mr. Arturo Talledo has been unwary of the painstaking efforts he has gone through as he tried to improve and develop his product line because he believes that in the race of quality, there is actually no finish line. And he has that forti-tude of not fleeing from risk but rather fac-ing it. With this today, Talledo’s Miki Com-mercial has an average monthly sale of PhP 165,000.00 and employs 13 workers. Initially, Talledo’s products are Canton with squash and dried noodles (plain and with squash). With the intervention of DTI, Talledo was exposed to marketing events such as pro-vincial and regional fairs including the Pa-daya in Manila last February 2011. Talledo’s miki products were likewise sold during the 2009 Food Caravan in Manila and the OTOP Luzon Island Fair (OLIF) 2009. Pack-aging and label design were improved being a recipient of the Veggie Noodle Fund in Abra. Sticker label was launched during the conduct of IMPAKABSAT 2009 and the di-rect print in plastic packaging was launched during the Padaya 2010 Trade Fair. Also, through the assistance of DTI and DOST, Talledo was able to produce more product lines using other vegetables like ampalaya, malunggay, camote and “saluyot”. With the acquisition of machineries and equipment, product quality was improved and the pro-duction volume has increased (vucortez/

bddabra).

Noodle Processing

Equipment

Participation to Padaya: Abra Trade & Tourism Expo @

Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall in February 2011

One-on-one Consultation with Designer

New packaging labels

of Talledo’s Dried

Noodles

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Packaging Development of Veggie Noodle Products in Abra

With the introduction of the veggie noodles in the province, several MSMEs signified their interest to engage in the industry considering the nutritional value it could provide to con-sumers and the availability of raw materials in the province. Some started production of veggie noodle products after undergoing basic training on veggie noodle production conduct-ed by DTI in 2009. Some had already availed of the DOST SET-Up program for the acquisition and upgrading of their processing equipment. The main concern of the new MSMEs at pre-sent is the development of their packaging and labeling design to enhance marketability of their products. In support to the industry, DTI proposed for the Packaging Development of Veggie Noodles products benefiting three (3) new MSMEs namely – 3Ds Food Products, Lexan Delicacies and Jaydine’s Panciteria. RDC trained local designer, Mr. Earl Joseph Borgonia was tapped to provide consultancy services to said MSMEs and develop the pack-aging labels. One-on-one consultation was conducted last February 8, 2011 for the designer to get inputs from the MSMEs of their desired label designs. He requested for product samples from the producers for picture taking. The de-signer was given ample time to develop the designs after which, he presented his output to the concerned MSMEs for critiquing. The MSMEs gave their comments and suggestions to the designer for finalization of the de-signs. Final designs were completed after se-ries of consultations with the MSMEs by the designer. Below are copies of the final designs developed by the designer. The designs are now ready for volume production/printing on a sticker paper (vucortez/bddabra).

One-on-one Consultation with Local Designer

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Project L.E.A.H Launched in Apayao By: Francis D. Pacio, Trade Promo Officer, DTI-Apayao

Coinciding with the 16th Founding Anniversary Cel-ebration of the Province of Apayao, known as the SAY-AM 2011, the Project L.E.A.H was introduced. This is a Livelihood project of Rep. Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang in partnership with concerned agencies aimed at assisting households to produce fine quality products that have market potentials. It shall provide a comprehensive package of assis-tances through the various National Line Agencies using selected firms or associations as conduits. These conduits shall utilize the households for the production of handicrafts which shall also serve as banner products for Apayao. The target beneficiaries of this project include the Out of School Youths, stay at home mothers, in-digenous people, elderly and all those willing to engage in household production. Very notable also is the inclusion of the inmates of the BJMP Luna as beneficiaries. This is to make their time inside profitable while preparing them for a new venture in the outside. At least five (5) initially selected producer groups occupied a booth during the Agro-Industrial Trade Fair portion of the Say-am 2011 on February 7 – 13, 2011 at the Provincial Government center Compound, San Isidro, Luna, Apayao. The prod-ucts utilized raw materials such as abaca, buri (bayong), water lily, corn husk, rattan, nito and darumaka. Participation to the Trade Fair is the

take off activity for the identified beneficiar-ies. Skills Trainings, Entrepreneurial Enhance-ment and market development were also con-ducted as follow up activities. DTI-CAR Regional Director Myrna P. Pablo was the Guest of Honor during the opening of the Provincial Agro-Industrial Fair and Tourism Exhibit. She was assisted by the Hon. Con-gresswoman Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang and other Provincial Heads during the cutting of the ribbon. During her visit, RD Pablo met with the congresswoman and other stakeholders to discuss salient points for the Project L.E.A.H.

In a related report, three ( 3 ) product lines were likewise launched during the Say-am 2011. These are the bags made out of abaca – produced in Con-ner, Water Lily – produced in Sta. Marcela and corn husk – made in Luna.

Photo shows Dir. Myrna P. Pablo and Rep. Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang cutting the ribbon.

APAYAO

Products launched: Water lily leather-look bags of Sta.

Marcela, Corn husk bags of Luna and abaca bags of

Conner

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This Marketing Encounter and Product Develop-ment Clinic is one of the many activities of the DTI in partnership with the Project L.E.A.H of Rep. Elea-nor C. Bulut-Begtang of the Lone District of Apayao.

Mr. Edward Marra draws prototypes for the

rattan baskets of the inmates of BJMP Luna

Ms. Judy Joson discusses the prospects of

small wooden items to furniture producers

APAYAO Conducts Market Encounter By: Francis D. Pacio

At least eight (8) producer groups benefitted from the DTI-organized Market Encounter and Product Develop-ment Clinic conducted on April 27-28, 2011 at the DTI-Apayao Provincial Office, Luna, Apayao.

This activity was made possible with the collaborative efforts of the DTI-CAR, the Bureau of Domestic Trade (BDT) and the Office of the Representative of the Lone District of Apayao. Metro Manila-based exporters in the persons of Mr. Edward Marra of the EMM Arts & Crafts and Ms. Judy Joson of the Island Accents Inc. accom-panied by BDT staff came to Apayao to conduct one-on-one market consultations and product development clinic with the local producers. This endeavor is the first of its kind for DTI-Apayao because traditionally, it is the producers being brought to Metro Manila for possible market-producer matching.

While a marketing agreement is the end goal of this activity, its aim of gradually introducing the Apayao pro-ducers to the „real‟ market was attained. The merchandizers shared their experiences and other in-puts about the intricacies of the market interplay. Inval-uable tips for the improvement of their products and production processes were also imparted.

In the end, some products brought for critiquing were bought by the merchandizers. Prototypes were also given to be executed by the producers. These proto-types shall be put into the market by the merchandiz-ers.

The activity was equally beneficial to the other stake-holders in handicraft development like the project im-plementers. The lessons learned were very useful to-wards the mapping of more appropriate endeavors for the industry.

The province of Apayao is basically devoted to agricul-tural production, particularly food and industrial crops

such as palay, corn, coffee, root crops and vegetables.

Apayao‟s produce are lanzones, citrus, bananas and pineapples. Rice production totals 42,602 metric tons

annually, as food crops totals 96,542 metric tons.

Economic activity is also based on livestock and poultry breeding such as swine, carabao, cattle, goat and sheep. Other additional investment includes manufactur-ing, food processing, furniture, crafts and house wares making.

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Vegetable Noodle Sector Making Its own way to the market...

This year, the DTI Baguio Benguet Office is the champion in the Vegetable Noodle project, one of the flagship programs of the agency because of the availability of raw materials, manpower/skills and potential for the sector to contribute to the local economy. Several capability building semi-nars were conducted for the identified propo-nents in collaboration with partner agencies like OWWA, DOLE-RTWPB, DOST, FDA and different LGUs. The objective of the skills training is to develop and produce a variety of highland vegetable-based noodles, reducing spoilage of these vegeta-bles in the area, improving productivity, optimizing available resources and eventually cre-ating its own market niche. They were also pro-vided with managerial/entrepreneurial trainings to capacitate, strengthen and enhance their knowledge in running their livelihood projects. These capability building seminars include Productivity-ISTIV, Current Good Manufacturing Practices, Packaging and Labeling and Pricing and Costing. There were at least 11 groups who benefited from the trainings.

Skills training conducted to identified proponents

Managerial/entrepreneurial trainings given to identified proponents.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan is shown during the turn over rites with Johnny Pulay and a program beneficiary of CSF for the Buguias RIC.

BENGUET

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Vegetable Noodle Sector Making Its own way to the market...

Their participation to trade fairs provided market-ing opportunities, linked or tie up with market outlets and institutional buyers. At least 5 propo-nents joined the ADIVAY Trade Fair held last Nov 19-26,2010 held at Wangal, La Trinidad. Eight(8) joined the Session Road in Bloom last February 28-March 6, 2011, four (4) in the Strawberry Festival held March 7-18, 2011, and five proponents in the Job’s fair last May 1-2,2011 at the Baguio Convention Center. The office continuously provides the proponents with technical assistance in terms of proposal preparation which were submitted to various gov-ernment and non government agencies like DOLE, OWWA, Benguet Provincial Office, Office of Congressman Dangwa, LGU and BENECO for fund-ing.

Three proponents: Buguias RIC, Buguias, Baguingey Rural Women’s Assn. of Tabio, Mankayan and Thorn and Roses Assn, Mankayan were provided equipment thru the Benguet Pro-vincial Office, DOLE-CAR and BENECO. Early this year, the office participated in the Baran-gayan activity of the ABS-CBN Baguio in coordina-tion with TESDA-Benguet, Barangay Apugan Sto Tomas and MOR Baguio. One of the proponents, the Sto Tomas Apugan Women’s Orgn displayed and sold their veggie noodle products and was invited by the ABS-CBN Baguio to demonstrate veggie noodle processing in their Naimbag nga Morning Kapamliya (NMK) on June 1,2011. Slowly but surely, the Benguet veggie noodle prod-ucts are creating its own niche in the local market.

Turn over ceremony of CSF from the DOLE-CAR Office for the Thorn and Roses Assn. in Lepanto, Mankayan, Benguet

Various trade fairs attended by the proponents

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Building in-house capability for product development in Benguet

One of the major programs of the Department of Trade & Industry is product development. It can either be labeling or packaging for food products or non-food, the development of new prototypes or product lines. Recognizing this important role in improving product quality, the Department, in collaboration with the Cordillera Regional Development Council, conducted a training on product development for local designers and some DTI staff to build-up the local pool of designers which can be tapped to extend design services to our SMEs. For Benguet, five (5) local designers were trained under the Project. Two of the trainees; Edwin Bagano and Layla Corro are from DTI-Benguet. The two staff are DTI-Benguet’s Trade Promotion Officer (TPO) and Alternate PO respectively. The three other trainees were Dr. Richard Dumapis,an instructor from Benguet State University, Ms. Annabelle M. Baliwan of A & C Computers and Mr. Richard Abellon, owner of Café Maleng-ag and Convenor of the Cordillera Coffee Arabica Council. In 2010, a total of 113 designs were developed, benefitting 37 SMEs. In 2011, the Program funded capability build-ing trainings for eight (8 ) groups. The training is a package of modules consisting of Produc-tivity-ISTIV, Current Good Manufacturing Prac-tices and Packaging and Labeling.

The Program was instrumental in making prod-uct development programs and services acces-sible to our SMEs. Having the designers at the local level makes it easy for the clients to avail of these services. The costs incurred by SMEs in product packaging and labeling are reduced enormously because the services are given for free by the DTI. Therefore, the limited re-sources of the entrepreneur is spent for the printing of the final labels. With good labels and packaging, the products are presented to the market in a more competi-tive manner, capturing higher price and creating brand consciousness in the consumers. The continuation of the Veggie Noodle Program is seen as beneficial as it further strengthens the good image of the entrepreneurs through our PRODEV activities. On the part of DTI, the staff gets the benefit through capacity building where they learn new skills to help them dis-pense their jobs in better, more efficient and ef-fective ways. In the long haul, the Program gets its worth of being called a Flagship Program because of its contribution in SME development .

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NERBAC BAGUIO-BENGUET LAUNCHING

In March 10, 2011, another milestone by the DTI-Benguet to serve its clients more effectively was achieved when the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (NERBAC) for Ba-guio and Benguet was formally launched at the Provincial Office. The establishment of the Center supports the thrust of the Department to continu-ally improve, as a commitment to its ISO 9001:2008 certification by Certification Interna-tional Philippines, Incorporated in June 25, 2010. NERBAC is created by virtue of Republic Act 7470 of 1992. The Center is a one-stop-action venue which facilitates the processing and documenta-tion of a business enterprise by the different li-censing agencies such as the DTI, DOH, BIR, PHIC, HDMF, SSS and DENR at the local level. It is also a facility that provides the basic information to would-be entrepreneurs and prospective inves-tors. Further stipulated in the DTI scorecard, the Center addresses indicators under business regis-tration and licensing, accreditation/license/permit issued, knowledge management, center govern-ance, and investment promotions. Highlights of the launching activity include the Center-blessing by couple-pastors Leo and Rexy Montenegro, the unrolling of the NERBAC banner and the mounting of agency logos. DTI-CAR Re-gional Director Myrna P. Pablo cited the impact of NERBAC Abra, whereby the business permit pro-cess was reduced from three-days to one-day pe-riod only thus challenging the present LGU repre-sentatives to enhance their own process thru the Business Permit and Licensing System (BPLS) - a joint project of DTI and the DILG. Mr. Rafael V. Tallocoy – the Executive Assistant of Mayor Domogan accepted the challenge albeit with the

reference that the City of Baguio has a voluminous number of business applications thus, will have a longer period of enhancing its present system. Culminating the activity was the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by the differ-ent Heads of the partner implementing agencies. Signatories present during the signing were Atty. Eduardo T. Bajador (RD of BIR-CAR), Mr. Jerome P. Avila (Department Manager of Pag-ibig) and Mr. Luis V. Olais (Asst. VP of SSS and Cluster Head for NL). The Heads of DOH-CHD CAR and Philhealth were ably represented by Dr. Erwin A. Bacug (MO-V) and Ms. Lily D. Linggon (Division Chief) respec-tively. DENR-CAR was not represented during the launching activity due to a prior commitment. This additional “Feather to the Cap” by the De-partment should not only be treated as a score in the card. More so, it should not only be seen as an epitome of high level standard for client-servicing but should also serve as a tool for continuous im-provement. The Center should not be taken as a different hierarchy or a separate Unit, or of a dif-ferent/limited boundary but as a “co-existent” support mechanism to attain our quality policy of delivering better, faster and more-efficient service to our clientele.

Provincial staff of DTI-Baguio/Benguet are shown posing for posterity at the NERBAC office

One challenge therefore is how these different Provincial NERBAC work hand in hand to achieve mutual benefits thru NERBAC-CAR to be able to assist investors and businessmen anywhere in the Cordilleras and the country as a whole. Another fitting challenge for the frontliners is how to max-imize partnership with the LGU Investments Pro-motion Units and Permits/Licensing Offices in their respective provinces. GO! NERBAC GO! Johnny G. Pulay

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NTF Update: CAR is 2nd top grosser in NTF, Sales at 6.1M

The Cordillera Administrative Region emerged as the second top seller during the 2011 Nation-al Trade Fair held at the SMX, Mall of Asia in Pa-say City. Totaling 6.1 Million pesos worth in booked or-ders and cash sales, exhibitors from Abra, Ben-guet, Ifugao and Kalinga were able to sell various products ranging from bamboo craft, furniture, processed food, gift, housewares and decors as well as hand woven items. CAR with 12 partici-pating MSMEs is second to Region 7 which gen-erated 6.5M of total sales from 27 exhibitors. Top sellers for the 2009 edition of the NTF were awarded during the 2nd Gawad Ginintuang Ya-man Awards Night, a major component of this year’s National Trade Fair. CAR was awarded the Top Selling Region while the Top Selling Ex-hibitor was bestowed on Balbin’s Furniture of Abra.

The awards night also paid tribute to new and outstanding products that exemplify originality and innovation. Booth designs per category were also recognized for showcasing creativity and originality. Ron and Mar Handicrafts of Benguet was the recipient of the Most Innovative Product Award for the Furniture Sector while Ga-yao’s Furniture of Abra and Dea’s Food of Kalinga were finalists for the Best Booth Design in the furniture and processed food sectors, respectively. Awarding for the Top Sellers of NTF 2011 will be given in next year’s NTF. Basis for the said awards are the “as of fair sales” (cash and booked) and the 6 months post fair sales generated by the participants. The National Trade Fair is led by the Cen-ter for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Regional Operations and Development Group (RODG) together with the Bureau of Domestic Trade (BDT).

Celebrants - CITEM Executive Director Rosvi Gaetos and DTI-RODG Usec Merly M. Cruz is shown flanking DTI-CAR Re-gional Director Myrna P. Pablo in photo above.

IP NEWS

The intellectual Property Philippines in its vision for an Intellectual Property-conscious Philippines in a demystified, development-oriented, and de-mocratized IP system by 2020 sought strategic partnership with lead agencies. A memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed with the Nation-al Library of the Philippines (NLP) on January 25, 2011 wherein NLP deputized IPOPHIL as a receiv-ing office for the registration and deposit of copy-right works under SEC. 191 of the IP code. Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was also signed with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 15, 2011 where IPSO shall assist SEC clients and facilitate the protec-tion of the IP assets thru registration. IPSO’s shall also conduct IP Basic Orientation Seminars for the officers and personnel of the SEC Regional Offices and provide the SEC offices with IP promotional materials. The Management Information System of both the SEC & IPOPHIL shall adopt advance-ments in Information and Communications Tech-nology to enable the efficient and secure sharing of data between the two agencies with the end in view of facilitating client registrations. Intellectual Property Philippines also part-ners with DTI-Regional Operations Development Group (DTI-RODG) which allows inclusion of IP Programs in DTI’s Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVIs); Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA); and Partnership with the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).

The latest Memorandum of Agreement signing was with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the National Commission on Indige-nous Peoples (NCIP) on June 27, 2011 in line with a training on Traditional Knowledge/ Traditional Cul-tural Expressions and Copyrights attended by heads and representatives from the three lead agencies including ten of the Intellectual Property Field Oper-ations Specialist all over the Philippines. The collabo-ration among the NCCA, NCIP, and IPOPHL aims to establish a coherent and coordinated inter-agency initiative to work towards preserving, protecting, and promoting the intellectual properties of the In-digenous Cultural Communities and the Indigenous Peoples. To achieve the objective of reaching IP stakeholders and foster an IP-inspired culture of innovation and creativity in the regions, IPOPHL during this first se-mester of 2011 has also established four additional IP satellite offices (IPSO) in Cagayan de Oro, Ilo-ilo, Tuguegarao and Tacloban City which started its full operation on July 4, 2011. A Patent Drafting Work-shop and IP FOU Planning Session was conducted on June 28 to July 02, 201 participated by the Field Op-erations Specialist of the different Satellite Offices. These activities are aiming to increase competencies of IP Field Operations Specialists, thereby boosting their confidence in providing IP advisory services to the different stakeholders in the regions. Cordillera’s wealth of Indigenous Knowledge, Sys-tems and Practices (IKSP) can now be registered, protected and promoted through accrediting agen-cies such as IPOPHIL.

Photo shows writer Cecile Afable (middle) with Ibaloi clan members during a recent tribal gathering in Baguio City.

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Striking while the iron is red hot This scenic village of Duit, some 5 km away from Poblacion, Kiangan where the so-called Tiger of Malaya, Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita of Japan, surrendered to the US 6th Infantry Division, is roused to life not by the fright-ening sound of gunfire but by the rhythmic blowing and hammering of red hot iron for livelihood. If not for the loud hammering at the smithy, the farm vil-lage would continue to exist in quiet agricultural oblivion, churning in some pockets of vegetables here and there which the locals brand as organic, and nothing more. The stillness at the place is interrupted as Roland Bongtiwon, “Panday Roland” as he is fondly called by the locals, holds firmly the red hot metal with a pincher while two of his six helpers hit alternately the hot iron with a hard bang. This sends a startled rooster scurrying away crowing, adding to the noise that has already awaken the neighborhood. As the iron receives more heating in the fire and more beating, it mellows down in malleability as the Panday shapes it to its desired utility. Though crude compared to the bolos and knives and other sharps produced by contemporary lowland manufacturers who are equipped with cutting edge technology, the newly hammered blades give the Panday a sense of satisfaction and a new sense of hope for the future. Actually, the various blades that the Panday displayed are nice to behold, especially the sockets which are inlaid with beautiful rattan weaves. The bolo in particular, called pinahig in the local dialect, shows some promise of strength and reliability. By its look, it can come strong and neat once applied to its real tasks of cutting and chopping. Interest in metalcraft had never been this serious before. It was only when the One Town One Product (OTOP)

came into the picture that smithy, particularly the manu-facture of bolos and knives and farm implements, has become a main source of income to most, not anymore a mere sideline activity. Metalcraft is one of three subsectors under cultural prod-ucts that was enrolled by the LGU of Kiangan as its OTOP product in 2006. The other two subsectors are ricewine and loomweaving. The LGU has only good words for OTOP. It has opened windows of opportunities and possibilities. With OTOP, the locals said they need not look too far to succeed in life. They are encouraged by the program to take a stock of themselves, to work on what they have, and to augment this with whatever complementation from the outside. The Coming and Going of the Panday True enough, Roland Bongtiwon did just that when the OTOP was at its height in 2008-2009. He took a look at what the other men and women in Mungayang, Kiangan had in terms of skills. Satisfied with a positive assessment, he started the ground work. He made his services available for free to assist strenghtened the lone blacksmith organization in Ifugao, the Assosasyon ng mga Panday sa Mungayang, Inc. Since then, the male members worked diligently on the metal, beating them into bolos, knives, and knife pendants, the bestseller, while the women, mostly the wives of the men, render the finishing touches of weav-ing extricate rattan trimmings onto the sockets of the blades and onto their scabbards, thus adding value and appeal on the products. Matching the zeal shown by the association with the same amount of passion, the DTI provided them with business consultancy and skills trainings. The latter invited the DOST-MIRDC to show them the appropriate technology and processes in smithy. Upon the advice and inputs of DOST-MIRDC, the Association through Rolando Bongtiwon sought the assistance of the DTI and the Provincial Government of Ifugao in packaging a fund proposal which the association submitted to DOLE. In support to OTOP, and because the proposal was found meritorious, the DOLE approved and funded the proposal which was utilized for the purchase of equip-ments now being used by the association. Determined to start his own business, Panday Roland finally registered his own business with the DTI without giving up on the Assosasyon ng mga Panday sa Mungayang. He lives in another municipality, in Duit, Kiangan with his family, thus the expediency of putting his business at where he lives. He has two young sons who, obviously, are learning fast the ropes from their father. He also found a helpmate, in the truest sense of the word, in his wife who helps him in raw material sourcing, marketing, and cooking for the family and the helpers. With about (6) helpers around, Roland can pro-duce an average of 110 pieces of bolos and knives, and

IFUGAO

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Roland cutting a hot metal strip to a desired shape

50 pieces knife pendants in 3 weeks time. Where before he can produce only 10 pieces of assorted blades in 2 weeks, work has become lighter and faster and productive when he acquired several equipments ; a bender, a drill press, a cut-ter, a manual grinder and an electric grinder , a sander, a blow torch, a blower, and hammers. He is grateful for the DOST Project SET-UP which funded his proposal for the equipments. The pro-gram has somehow made the production process easier for him. In addition, he is about to receive some grants, in the form of machines, from the Office of Congress-man Teodoro B. Baguilat Jr. The DTI, through which an initial PDAF Fund of the Congressman was channeled, found his proposal for fund assis-tance favorable, thus the approval of his request. Meanwhile, to improve his products and product line, he availed of DTI‟s Product Development Pro-gram where he was provided new product concepts based on the assessment of his available products.

Not a sunset industry after all This micro, micro enterprise makes an average sales of P41, 000.00 a month. This amount could have been hard to gener-ate had Roland the Panday used traditional marketing strate-gis. Instead of sitting down, lying in wait for the first customer to strike a deal, he goes to where the market is. He joins trade fairs and pasalubong centers. He goes to places as far as Sagada and Bontoc in Mt. Province, and Santiago City in Isa-bela. His buyers in these places, in turn, bring the products to other places to be resold. This is how Roland‟s products fare now – saleable and in demand. On one ocassion, the Panday has to work overtime to deliver on time some products which a buyer would bring to Te-nessee, USA. Although the order was small, he said the buy-er would show these to friends in the US for order taking. Roland is forever grateful that with the extra attention accord-ed his products on account of the OTOP, he is now able to make both ends meet and still has enough savings for a rainy day. “Haanin unay nga problema ti pangkitchen itatta” (food expense is not so much a problem now), he said. Unfortu-nately though, but he was not sorry about it, he said his used his savings to purchase a lot near his house in Duit, Kiangan for his wife to till. But he said if he continues to strike hard while the iron is hot, he would be able to make up for that spent savings. Dreaming Big - Meanwhile, he dreams of one day having that capacity to match the demand of institutional buyers. One time that he attended an OLIF Trade Fair in Manila, he said he turned down an order placed by SILAHIS Arts and Artifacts because it was too big. Even with his production and that of the Association combined, he said there was no way the re-quest could have been delivered. This time, he said he won‟t forgive himself if a similar oppor-tunity comes by and he would give it a pass again. Thus he dreams of acquiring a hydraulic hammer which could improve production and productivity at his smithy, without letting go of the services of his laborers. Having tried and tested his mettle at organizational strength-ening, he also plans to organize the men in his neighborhood to try their hands on metalcraft for a living. Lately, he trained about 18 men in Duit in coordination with the LGU of Kiangan. With this, he hopes that those men given to wine and idleness would finally be sober as they get to work on the anvil. Mean-while, he hopes that their women would get away from idle talks to help their husbands . When that happens, Panday Roland would only be too happy to see life in his neighbor-hood uplifted. He is also happy at the thought that he would eventually have a solid support base to improve his production capacity. A very micro success story, but a success story nonetheless about Panday Roland feeling good under the shadow of the One Town One Product (OTOP).

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Home-based Snacks Processing: The Story of Thess and Nitz Veggie Chips Local residents in Kalinga now enjoy un-adulterated veggie chips for snacks, rather than munching processed chips heavily adorned with un-natural ingredients processed by large companies outside the province. With the intervention of DTI and IFAD thru the Rural Micro Enterprise Promotion Pro-gram (RuMEPP), the Veggie Noodle Pro-cessing in the province of Kalinga took off in June 2009. Two (2) modest young housewives diligently discovered the ins and outs of running a home-based veggie noodles processing activity from that time that they were provided the basic training in the early part of 2009. Ms. Juanita Perez and Ms. Teresa An-gadol, both from the municipality of Ri-zal, are young housewives who are determined to derive additional income from their plain hobby of cooking. Of the twenty-five (25) trainees on veggie noodle processing, only the two of them immedi-ately pursued processing of which their initial for-mulation of a “ready-to-eat” veggie chips instantly captured the discriminating taste of people for overly spiced junk food. DTI-RUMEPP reinforced this enthusiasm, provided the necessary consul-tancy services to make the product known locally and to have these two budding entrepreneurs le-galize their operations. In June 2009, during the Matagoan Festival of the city of Tabuk, the Ma-lunggay Veggie Chips and Squash Veggie Chips, were launched, combined with a skills demonstra-tion on how the chips are processed from dough mixing to fortifying it with ground vegetables to cutting and frying. People appreciated how the chips are processed and were given a great oppor-

tunity to replace junk food with locally produced veggie snacks. This tremendous market response motivated these new entrepreneurs to register their businesses, thus each one of them registered their own business name in July 2009 giving birth to Thess Veggie Noodles and Nitz Nutri Snacks. They likewise secured their business permit from the local government of Rizal. Their presence in the same location did not at all affect their drive to go into a similar activity. The abundance of raw materials in the locality like ma-lunggay or moringa, squash, ampalaya, “saluyot”, was actually an opportunity for their businesses to complement each other. Thess Veggie Noodles produces malunggay and ampalaya chips, while Nitz Nutri Snacks processes squash and saluyot veggie chips. In October 2010, with the assistance of one of the RUMEPP BDS providers in Kalinga, their products have undergone nutritional analysis

and microbiological tests. The results for the micro-biological tests showed that the samples are NEGATIVE for fecal coliform, staphylococcus aureaus, and salmonella. Aerobic plate count, yeast and mold counts are within the stand-ard limit for food. Because of the sustained advocacy on resource based food products with high nutritional content, coupled with the changing preferences of people for healthy foods, the demand for the veg-gie chips/snacks has increased. Today, the products of Thess and Nitz are sold

in local hotels, restaurants, school canteens, and commercial outlets in Tabuk. Their marketing skills are also enhanced, so they take initiatives in bring-ing their products even outside the province. They have established market tie-ups in Baguio City, Quirino and Cagayan Provinces. From their humble beginnings as mere house-wives, who substantially depend on their hus-band’s income as overseas workers, they were able to find their way in deriving income from something they love to do. Each of them make an average monthly sales ranging from P15,000.00 to P40,000.00. They are Kalinga’s pride in providing nutritional snacks to local residents. Their vegeta-ble noodles have become not just a healthy food substitute, but also a source of additional income for their families.

kalinga

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Raw Material Showcases draw crowd in Ullalim Fair 2011

Noryn Busacay-Bagano, DTI-Kalinga

The 2011 Ullalim Agro-Industrial Fair on February 13-16 has presented various highlights that drew the attention of visitors, buyers, officials and inter-ested local investors. Along with the display and selling of products of the province’s renown on craftsmanship and ingenuity, the business opportu-nities on Engineered-Bamboo (E-Bamboo) and Wa-ter Hyacinth (water lily) were also put on view. The Raw Material Showcase on E-Bamboo, as shown on left photo, has provided insights to local residents on the down- and upstream opportunities awaiting them. The bamboo slats were incredibly transformed to plies or layers or ply-boo which can be assembled as tables, chairs, tiles, roofing materi-als, flooring materials and the like. The prototype for a school desk set (a table and a chair) was pro-vided by DTI’s Cottage Industry Technology Center or CITC, which will be turned over to Department of Education- Kalinga. The photo on the right shows a display of finished products from water lily, including leather-look dyed materials for bags, pouches and other house-hold items. These products are manufactured by the Tabuk Basket Weavers Association, who were given skills training on water lily processing in 2010. They were also provided small tools and sewing machines to equip them initially with facilities for their production area. Other highlights during the agro-industrial fair in-clude exhibits of sponsors and partner offices like Chevron, Globe Philippines, BFAR and the Panabe Group of Companies. The Office of the Congress-man likewise set-up their Provincial Livelihood Pro-gram booth that presented the products of benefi-ciaries.

2.2 million sales generated in Ullalim Fair 2011

by Noryn Busacay-Bagano, DTI-Kalinga The Ullalim Agro-Industrial Fair has again pro-duced exemplary results for the local producers, and for the province of Kalinga as a whole. Said agro-industrial fair is one of the major highlights in the celebration of the 16th Kalinga Foundation An-niversary last February 13-16, 2011. Sales of about 2.280 million pesos was generated by 106 total

exhibitors in eight (8) sectors. The fair’s special setting showing the

province’s products The Sectors on Gifts, Holiday Decors, and Weara-bles & Fashion Accessories soared to remarkable heights and brought about P609,000 in total sales. This figure is 26% of all the sectors’ sales and 12% more than what was generated in the same occa-sion last year. Twenty (22) local exhibitors contrib-uted to such performance including the newly or-ganized water hyacinth processing group, the Tabuk Basket Weavers Association. Other new micro entrepreneurs registered is the Fangi2 Ha-nidcrafts which manufactures small decorative jars painted with Kalinga ethnic designs; Jajie Ha-nidcrafts which transforms cocoon shells into leis, corsage and other decorative items; and Kalilook Souvenirs which transforms paper roll containers into cylindrical coin banks. The Processed Foods Sector registered the highest increase in terms of sales compared to last year’s performance. It generated about P431,000 total sales which is 110% more than the P205,000 sales gained in 2010. The continued patronage of the local residents of our own coffee, unoy rice and fruit wines, as well as their efforts to promote them to their visitors and friends, has contributed much to the increase in sales.

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Bontoc LGU at the On-set of Piloting LRED in Mountain Province There was not an outright nod on Local and Regional Economic Development even with the designation of an LRED focal person at the Mayor‟s office as early as Au-gust of 2010. It was something very new among the new set of officers in the Municipal LGU of Bontoc. Both the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Most Municipal Councilors are new. It took time for them to settle down before they started to ask what was it about. In December, 2010, Mr. Fagsao, the LRED point person was able to get a schedule for the presentation of LRED Concept in one sitting with the Mayor, the Vice Mayor and the Municipal Council. The gains and success stories in the Visayas and then the piloting of Tabuk in Kalinga, were enough to bring a clearer picture of what is expected from LRED. It took the LGU 3 months before the Executive Order was signed by the Mayor. EO 12 series of 2011 was signed and issued. It states therein adoption of LRED approach for the development planning of Bontoc and the creation of LRED TWG. The LRED TWG members are: Hon. Ignacio Afidchao, Councilor; Ms. Nora Falolo, the designated LRED LGU focal person; Mr. Joel Fag-sao, DTI LRED Point person; and Ms. Maura Mangay-at, BDS representative. Briefing of TWG was held on May 12, 2011 at the SB Office of Bontoc. It was likewise attended by Vice Mayor William Aspilan, the MLGOO, Phoebe Chakas, the Municipal Planning and Develop-ment Officer, Ms. Virginia Kawi, Executive Assistant to the Mayor and the Municipal Agriculturist. The output of the briefing was the identification of key sectors / areas of economic development. The sectors/areas identified were: Tourism cluster including hotels, restaurants and tour guides(incidentally this is the priority concern of the mayor), Trading and Services Sector; Tricycle Opera-tors and Drivers; Farmers; Government agencies and institutions including Police Department; educational institutions; market vendors and even Senior Citizens. A workshop among the participants showed a bench-mark rating from a lowest of 2.1 to a highest 3.5 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest. The indicators with the lowest rating is „specialization‟ where producers are not innovative and that they are producing similar prod-ucts. Other indicators with low ratings are „collaboration‟ and „informality‟, which means that businesses in the town are more individualistic and seldom collaborate. The businesses are highly informal that support services are difficult to access. After the briefing of the Rapid Economic Appraisal facili-tators and the identification of REA respondents on May 17, 2011, ten staff of the LGU and two facilitators from DTI were divided in two teams and are now dispatched for the REA survey. The highlight of LRED remains to be seen as of press time.

Lang-ay Agro-Industrial Fair Going to New Heights For seven years that the Lang-ay Festival was staged to celebrate Mountain Province Day, the Lang-ay Agro In-dustrial Fair had always been the opening salvo of the festival. It is said to be the longest and widest part of the festival as it starts on day 1 of the festival and stay until all the activities are done. It occupies all the courts of the plaza and as the festival activities are run, the fair continu-ously grinds. At the end of a parade participants crowd snacks and coffee booths then roam around other booths for shopping. The first Lang-ay trade fair was just an exhibit of munici-pal prides while the Pasalubong Centers displays the local crafts of SMEs. With more planning and inputs during the subsequent Lang-ay Festival, participation to the Lang-ay Agro Industrial Fair increased from just 15 booths during the first year to 104 participants in 2011. This year‟s docu-mented sales is P4.4260M of which P3.91M is cash sales. Sales is 11% higher than the sales in 2010. This year‟s trade fair started on April 4 and ended on April 8, 2011. Exhibitors came from Provinces all over the region, except Apayao. The bayong products of Apayao are however displayed in the province‟s pasalubong Center. The growing intensity of the impact of the festival in the hearts of Igorots world wide brought about the celebration of Lang-ay Festival in other countries. In 2009, Lang-ay celebration were staged in Hongkong and in Toronto, Canada which became an annual affair of the Igorots therein. In April, 2011 Lang-ay Macau was also initiated. A consolidator of local products, Ygollote Handicrafts took the initiative to bring products to these countries during the affairs. A large volume of Igorot costumes and woven accessories as well as T-shirts printed with cultural images and designs were shipped prior to the festival. For Moun-tain Province, this is our break for export sales making kababayan abroad as the either the market or the market-ing channels themselves.

MT. PROVINCE

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DTI-Mountain Province facilitates implementation of Congressional Livelihood Program in Mountain Province Report from: Juliet P. Lucas

Mountain Province gets Congressional Funding for livelihood. Congressman Maximo B. Dalog chose Livelihood Program as one of his priority in the menu of programs for funding as he started his term as Congressman in 2010. DTI proposal in 2010 was forwarded upon the Con-gressman’s call for development ideas in October, 2010. Dubbed, MARKETING ACCELERATION AND INDUSTRY MOBILIZATION, said program is expected to run from 2011-2013. While Mountain Province is a tourist destination of which Sagada is the most popular destination, the province can offer various interests to tourists in almost all of its towns. Tour-ism is therefore the Provincial OTOP and the first among its Investment Priority Areas. People are to be more aggressive in investing in tourism. The unique culture and tradition of the people of Mountain Province provides unique feature of its products in terms of design and workmanship. There should be more products to be crafted by which the culture, lifestyle and scenery can be tangi-bly imbibed. This would surely increase marketabil-ity of the products. There are untapped indigenous materials and skills in the province that could be used for trendy prod-ucts and services. Agricultural products in the province are generally organic. They are likewise market delights. Despite a possible strong market positioning, marketing re-mains latent due to the following reasons. People are not exposed much with market trends. Marketing is confined within the province as noted with poor access to good packaging facilities, inap-

propriate labeling and stiff competition. There is no established quality certification of food prod-ucts at this time when consumers are health conscious. Also, producers need to advance in technology to improve workmanship and increase produc-tivity. This will eventually make the products competitive both in quality and prices In coordination with the National Livelihood De-velopment Corporation, five projects proposed by DTI were approved and implemented from April to May, 2011. The projects were imple-mented by NLDC through its accredited NGO, BL Personal Touch Foundation with the facilitation of DTI-MP. The projects implemented are:

Kimchi Processing on March 2-4, in Bontoc, Mountain Province

Vege-Noodle Processing on March 10-12, 2011 at the MRDC Processing Plant in Sagada, Mountain Province ;

Potato Processing on March 16-18, 2011 at Mount Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province;

Arabica Coffee Processing and Benchmark-ing on March 19-19, 2011 in Baguio City;

Product Innovation on Bamboocraft on April 2-4, 2011 in Kayan, Tadian, Mountain Province.

Each training had at least 30 participants. A component of every training is Value Chain Anal-ysis and business planning as well as a lecture on how to start a business and good manufacturing practice. The trainings were conducted in exist-ing production plants of existing businesses to allow actual demonstration and business bench-marking. The bamboo innovation project was a DTI commitment for the rehabilitation of Kayan, a community devastated by Typhoon Pepeng in 2009. In May of 2011, DTI was notified by the Con-gressman’s Office of another P500,000 fund channeled through the Bontoc LGU for the im-plementation of 4 specific projects on tourism, food and packaging. The Bontoc LGU is now drafting a MOA for the project implementation. With the LRED on the way, said projects are to be committed to address burning issues that may come about in the LRED planning.

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METAPHORS Having a body scrub with a bubbly block made of oatmeal, papaya, guava, seaweed or charcoal mixed with additives such as virgin coconut oil and other substances may not seem to fall in the area of gourmet or health consciousness but to the Ayupan family of Benguet, it means more than that. In fact, it is a product of a well studied research that resulted out of a necessity when young Melo-dy Ayupan found that her body was extra-sensitive to certain foods, and to chemically-laden and scented soaps. To deal with her problem, she shifted to organic diet and embarked on a scien-tific research on how to make alternative soaps and other body care products for her personal use. At first, Melody searched the Internet and books and later consulted a chemist friend about how to make skin-friendly organic soaps. Melody being a science buff, first made her own bath soap using strawberry and vegetable oil in 2000 when she was then barely 14. With research and assistance from professional friends, the Ayupans ventured into processing other soaps such as glutathione, collagen, salad bar, goat milk, oatmeal and strawberry soaps. Since then, Melo-dy, aided by her parents, has been making her own cold processed bath soap, which proved ex-cellent for her sensitive skin. During their initial research stages, rice bran and coconut oil were the basic ingredients of the soap they produced. Guided by a chemist relative, Mel-ody at a young age of fifteen with no formal train-ing in chemistry used kitchen pots and ladles to

mix the ingredients in a small wooden box as mould. Sometimes Melody doubles the soap con-coction to include gifts to friends and relatives. To her surprise, those who tried the soap returned to order additional pieces for their use and to give as gifts or pasalubongs to friends and family. The Ayupan family business started in Santiago, Isabela where the family was based in 2003 and their effort paid off when their soaps became known locally as an effective soap alternative in moisturizing and rejuvenating the skin.

Metaphor Soaps are cold processed with virgin coconut

oil and fruit/plant enzymes. Every block of soap is hand

-made and hand cut by the Ayupans and carefully pack-

aged by workers trained by them.

In 2007, the family moved to La Trinidad, Benguet and repeated their success with the soap making business. New found friends who tried the prod-ucts were impressed and became regular custom-ers. Natural Metaphors Body Products was regis-tered with DTI-Benguet on the same year. With the assistance of the local DTI office and the La Trinidad LGU, the home made soaps were exhibit-ed in different local trade fairs. As a result of these product exposures, orders have increased

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far beyond the family’s expectation. They had to rent a small soap making facility in the lowlands and hire contrac-tual workers to accommodate the orders. Eventually, a min-imum of 300 pieces of soap (150 gms) are being ordered monthly. From an initial capital of P10,000, the family had to avail of additional working capital from the Jaime V. Ongpin Foun-dation. A rich benefactor sympathetic to their cause added in a sizable amount to jumpstart volume production. The funds were used to build a small soap making laboratory at their La Trinidad home. Additional financing from the Local Government of La Trinidad and technical assistance from DOST Set-up program further boosted the production and marketing capability of the firm. The business maintains a product outlet at the Old Market Building in Km. 5, La Trini-dad, Benguet. Lorna Ayupan, the mother of Melody has been very active in pushing the products during trade fairs and various ex-hibits like Panagbenga, Impakabsat, Adivay, Lang-ay and Strawberry Festival. Their first trade fair experiences were unforgettable as she described the waves of people who came to their booths to buy their products from early morning to closing time. These developments inspired the family to improve their products even more. They availed of product development workshops initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry and other agen-cies to explore labeling and packaging possibilities that will further boost appearance of the products. They have been active in attending various government livelihood forums and seminars. On various occasions, they were invited to share their success story on TV, print and other media. These media coverage have enhanced sales of Metaphors tremendously. The firm employs the direct sell-ing approach to their products, with word of mouth as best advertising..

Strawberry Soap: From the strawberry fields of La Trinidad, Benguet, this pleasant smelling soap cleanses and helps in preventing skin blemishes. With Vitamin C & E, almond oil, pappaine and hon-ey, strawberry soap tones skin for a cleaner, healthier and fairer complexion.

This non-irritating strawberry wash with tea tree oil and organic herbs deodorizes and whitens intimate areas promoting a normal and healthy hygiene for women.

Mother and daughter Lorna and Melody Ayupan is shown with DTI-Baguio-Benguet Provincial Director Freda M. Gawidan and Regional Director Myrna P. Pablo during an MSME recognition rites in Benguet last year.

As a self help program, the Metaphors products provide an excellent alternative to people who want to go back to the basics like the Ayupans. What also per-sonifies the business enterprise is the teamwork of the family members, with the daughter and father focusing on the research and production side, this leaves the mother, Lorna, with her genial per-sonality in the forefront of the business operations. To cap their achievement as a family, Melody was selected as one of the Go Negosyo’s Ten Most Inspiring Young En-trepreneurs in 2009, one among the ten national awardees. They were feted in a highly publicized national affair where she brought home a Nokia Special Award and BPI Family Bank Award. Today, the company has a minimum pro-duction of 2,000 pieces a month. It manu-factures nearly 12 soap variants including the top sellers strawberry soap and char-coal soap. It has 13 people under its di-rect employ plus a contingent of satisfied customers, individuals, students, dealers and institutions distributing the products down the line and earning a regular in-come from the activity. The company has its own shares of struggles but their quest for healthy and effective products will not be deterred.

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Diskwento Goes to Itogon By: Carla R. Noble

July is a special month for the Depart-ment of Trade and Industry as it com-memorates its 30th anniversary. As a way to celebrate this momentous occa-sion and to kick-off one of the forerun-ner program of the Department, DTI-Benguet will be collaborating with ABS-CBN Baguio, TESDA, DOLE and the local government of Itogon to bring services closer to the people. A one day activity combining all the services of these or-ganizations will be conducted in Itogon this July. Highlighting this convergence is the Diskwento Caravan. Major distributors of basic and prime commodities will travel to Itogon to roll-out their mer-chandise at discounted prices. The people including retailers and coopera-tives will be benefitted considering that prices of goods are lower than the pre-vailing rates. Apart from the discount offer, the constituents will likewise save on transportation costs, they need not travel to Baguio or nearby towns to purchase their goods. As a complement to the Diskwento Caravan, mobile Business Name Regis-tration will be conducted. A move to ensure that business entities in the ar-ea are duly identified. The Department shall likewise hold consumer education sessions focusing on the following: Consumer Rights and Responsibilities and Advocacy on Green Consumerism (Plastic-Free Packing). Materials and flyers on entrepreneurship will also be distributed. The caravan offers a complete package of service and assistance. Indeed, it is something every stakeholder should look forward to. Itogon, . . . see you in July.

Diskwento Fever in Cordillera is On

Baguio City - The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-CAR, Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board-CAR and the Department of trade and Industry-CAR as well as key retailers and distributor have launched an In-Store Diskwento program in the region as part of the gov-ernment’s initiative to help low-income earners and con-sumers.

The In-Store Diskwento in CAR’s six provinces and the city of Baguio took off during the Labor Day Jobs Fair at the Ba-guio Convention Center last May 1 and 2. The program was also conceived as a non-wage benefit for workers and con-sumers in the region obtain their necessities at reasonable prices.

The project was launched on May 16, 2011, and is slated to be implemented in various stores and outlets in the Cordil-lera Administrative Region until October 15. With the goal of helping consumers and workers as the primary benefi-ciary of the activity, the PCCI also view the Diskwento as an opportunity for establishments to exercise its corporate social responsibility. The In-Store Diskwento will also fea-ture various promotional schemes such as outright dis-counts of 3-10% on the price of basic necessities, prime commodities, school supplies promo packets with free items as consumer premiums and buy-one-take-one pro-motions. Goods such as sardines, milk, noodles, detergents, pad papers, notebooks and pencils will be particularly high-lighted and the buying consumers are likewise advised to look for notices and signage bearing the Diskwento label with the logo of RTWPB, PCCI and DTI. Establishments in the Baguio-Benguet area like the Tiong San chain of stores and Laser Marketing were already seen giving discounts following the Diskwento program.

On Site Visit - Seen inspecting school supplies being sold at a store in Baguio are RTWPB Board Secretary Teddy Delson, DTI-CAR Director Myrna P. Pablo and RTWPB Member Johnny de la Cruz. Not shown in photo is PCCI Regional Governor Engr. Alfonso Lao.

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Industry Showroom at DZEQ - Handmade baskets, bags and decorative trays made of rolled newspapers displayed at the Radyo ng Bayan station in Pacdal are also being promoted on the air through a government radio station. Photo shows DTI Prov. Dir. Freda Gaw-isan, DTI Regional Dir. Myrna Pablo, Station Manager Andre Amadeo, Trinidad Cayading and radio host Jing Flor.

Ethnic inspired bags and other fashion items from the Cordillera are among the crowd drawers during fairs and expos.

Knowledge Management Training - PD Grace Baluyan expertly masterminded the conduct of a two-day train-ing of KM held at the DOLE-CAR office in Baguio City.

KAPIHAN - RD Myrna P. Pablo along with guests from CAR line agencies expounded on the key functions and services of their respective agencies.

Meeting with Investors and locators - Together with Baguio City Vice Mayor Daniel Farinas (3rd from left) and Councilor Elmer Datuin, RD Myrna P. Pablo discuss-es with officials of CONVERGYS investment and employ-ment opportunities on BPOs in Baguio along with the development of world class lodging facilities and trans-portation system. Also shown in photo (2nd from right) is Marife Zamora, Country General Manager of Conver-gys Philippines with her senior officers.

The Region in Focus

25

DTI BENGUET CONDUCTS FASHION ACCESSORY TRAINING FOR PWD BDD-DTI Benguet Working with PWDs is always a welcome prospect

for DTI given our mandate to serve as many sec-

tors as possible. The recent conduct of the skills

training on fashion accessories for PWDs is one

such activity where the resources of DTI,

OCSWADO (Office of the City Social Welfare and

Development Officer) and KAMPI-CAR (Katipunan

ng May Kapansanan sa Pilipinas, Inc.) were

brought together to provide capability building

opportunities for PWDs living in Baguio City and

nearby areas. KAMPI initiated the project and co-

ordinated with DTI-CAR and OCSWADO to share

the costs for training materials, honorarium of

resource person, venue, meals and snacks. The

training was conducted in two batches, the first

on April 28-29, 2011 and the second on May 5-6,

2011. Both trainings were conducted at the Si-

lungan Center, DSWD, Baguio City with OCSWADO

and DTI-Benguet monitoring the activity.

A total of 35 participants joined the trainings with

the hearing impaired leading in number. Watching

the group at work is quite a departure from the

usual noisy skills trainings we are used to. They are

very observant and attentive. Communicating in-

structions to them was an obvious challenge but

they made it up by their keen sense of observation

on how proper wire looping, twisting and wrap-

ping is done. They are quick to finish a piece of

jewelry because of the amount of concentration

and focus they bring to the task. The ability to fil-

ter noise and comments from other participants is

an advantage to them and thus, the finished

products reflect their personal interpretation of

the instructions given to them. One notices the

simple, clean and tidy coordinated set pieces that

they assembled. It can be said that their design

choices are conservative, but then again, one can-

not miss the unique color and material combina-

tions which makes the pieces trendy and current.

The rest of the participants is composed of the

ortho-impaired, parents and guardians of PWDs,

and there were the four girls of Silungan Center,

special participants, wards of the agency who are

either runaways or juvenile law offenders. The

sparkly earrings and bracelets that they created

brings a welcome relief from whatever conflicts

they are having and hopefully will help them turn

in a new life. There is also a teenager recovering

from a mental illness accompanied by his mother

who seems to enjoy the jewelry workshop more

than him. But their exchange of smiles while work-

ing on their projects reflects a sense of bonding

more precious than jewelry. There were also rep-

resentatives from the women and youth groups

who asked to be accommodated even if they have

to share the few extra training kits.

Each participant was required to assemble earring

sets, bracelets, necklaces, hair accessories, rings

26

and bangles. Tips on selecting bead materials and

how it impacts on the price of finished products,

which is quite a tricky topic to explain to the hear-

ing impaired in the absence of a professional in-

terpreter were also discussed. They were encour-

aged to search the web or study samples being

sold in the market in order to get a good idea on

the various materials and how they are priced.

The group was trained by Ms. Laine Eladjoe of La

Trinidad, Benguet, owner of Beadrock Fashion

Accessories. Call center agent by day or night de-

pending on her shift who parlayed her childhood

hobby into a home based enterprise. She was

quick to acknowledge the creativity and appeal of

the finished products turned in by this unique

group. Should they be given a wider choice of raw

materials and more time and resources to experi-

ment with bead materials differing in color,

shape, texture, shine or luster they would proba-

bly create more compelling designs. As a supplier

of beads, wires, tools and accessories for jewelry

making, she can also be an ideal “big sister” to the

PWD group which she acknowledges by offering

her services as a friendly supplier of raw materi-

als. She also shared her experience in putting up

her business, thereby encouraging them to start

their own. She promised them some job orders if

her planned online selling flourishes.

She can also conduct advance jewelry making les-

sons in her shop should there be interested groups

among them.

After the successful the conduct of the training,

the bigger challenge lies on how to translate their

newly acquired skills into a long term livelihood

activity. The project proposal specifies post train-

ing assistance to be provided by government in

the form of product promotion through trade

fairs, financing and the like. The KAMPI Chapter

President, Ms. Connie Wad-as has a bigger ambi-

tion though, she envisions a craft and display cen-

ter where PWDs can sell their products and ser-

vices, where they can show their various skills not

only in the crafts but also in the healing arts. While

this may take a while, the participants were mean-

time encouraged to organize themselves, pool

their resources, sell to friends or relatives first

while improving their craft, join trade fairs and

watch out for other opportunities to grow their

business. As with other activities government has

funded, greater effort and initiative must come

from the beneficiaries to ensure its sustainability.

27

Knowledge Management Training Workshop June 8-9 2011

The conducted two (2) days activity on the

Training–Workshop on Knowledge Management gave focus on Knowledge Management as one of the functional areas of NERBAC. Through the training workshop, a more defined plan pertinent to the operations of the Knowledge Center was crafted. The activity would enhance the capacities of NERBAC personnel and management to better operationalize NERBAC as a Knowledge Center where valuable information, insights and knowledge from the different participating agen-cies of government will be effectively shared to the entrepreneurs or prospective investors of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

ARD Carmelita C. Usman opened the KM Training Workshop with an opening address, followed later that day with a presentation of KM Strategies and Invest Promo briefing on Day 2; PD Grace F. Baluyan presented the in-troductory modules and was the facilitator during the workshop sessions; Ms. Vilma C. Abad, Regional Invest Promo Officer, shared updates on the 1st Luzon Investments Confer-ence and revisited the agreements made dur-ing the Regional NERBAC Meeting and Work Complementation held last April 27; and Ms. Odette G. Abitan presented the salient points on the EBNRS Policy Advisory 11-01 which introduced major changes to the BNR pro-cess.

PD Grace F. Baluyan presented the introducto-ry modules

Vilma C. Abad facilitating the workshop ses-sions. Odette G. Abitan presenting the salient points on the EBNRS Policy Advisory

28

PHOTO OPS

A show of hands. Group 3 observed democratic process as they deliberated on the ratings they gave in the KM Readiness Assessment

OIC Renee stresses a point in one of the group discussions

On day 2, OIC Juliet and PD Arell provided a recap of the previous day with training highlights, insights learned, and topics that the workshop left off.

Tool (above). Dubbed “The Others”, Group 3 had members coming from different divi-sions in the RO and POs, from CWTRD and Planning, to FAD and BDD. Below, group members remained solid through heavy brainstorming and

ARD Mely and PD Grace posed with their trainees during the culmination of the two-day training workshop.

Workshop Output Presentation

29

GOOD NEWS!

DTI-CAR AWARDED AS BEST PERFORMING REGION AND 2ND

BEST REGIONAL FINANCE GROUP

Best Performing Region: Above photo-op shows USEC Merly M. Cruz (RODG), Dir. Mary Jean T. Pacheco

(OOP), Dir. Joel R. Cruz (GAS), Dir. Ireneo V. Vizmonte (FMS) and OIC Janet N. Safranca (HRDPS) with

DTI-CAR’s Lino Cungihan, Liza Vargas, Jerry Agpes & Florence Gredonia

The performance of DTI-CAR during CY 2010 has been recognized by Head Office-Management Services and Support Group (MSSG) during the Finance, Human Resource, Administrative and Planning Officers Conference (FHRAPCON) held at Tagaytay City on March 16-19. 2011. Among the sixteen (16) regions, DTI-CAR was awarded as Best Performing Region and 2nd Best Regional Finance Group. The criteria of these recognitions include timeliness of report submission, accura-cy, completeness of reports submitted and balanced fund utilization. Said recognition was awarded by no less than USEC Merly M.Cruz of the Regional Operations and Development Group (RODG). Congratulations to DTI-CAR family, indeed, our commitment to service and high work standards paid-off. Our collective commitment, hard work and strong determination in achieving our set goal con-

tributed primarily to this achievement. DTI-CAR will continue to strive for excellence!

30

2nd Best Regional Finance Group: Posing for posterity in this photo are: Jerry Agpes, OIC Ma.

Asuncion H.Cruzada (Accounting Division), Dir. Ireneo V. Vizmonte (FMS), OIC Wilma L. Macalalag

(Budget Division), Florence Gredonia, Liza Vargas and Lino Cungihan.

CONGRATULATIONS!

“The most important question to ask on the job is not "what am I getting?" The most

important question to ask is "What am I

becoming?"

"If at first you do succeed try not to

look too surprised." Anonymous

31

DTI-CAR AMONG THE RED ORCHID AWARDEES OF 2011 Thirty four (34) government offices, hospitals and local government units (LGUs), out of the 89 nominees, received the Red Orchid Award for being 100% tobacco-free environments.

Among the government offices that vied for the distinction of being 100% tobacco-free are the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry-CAR, Department of Education, Com-mission on Population, Land Transportation Of-fice and the Civil Service Commission. DTI-CAR received a trophy and a certificate. Aside from DTI and POPCOM which joined the Center for Health Development-CAR, the Luis Hora Memori-al Hospital in Bauko, Mountain Province is also a recipient of the Red Orchid Award for 2011 in the Cordillera Administrative Region. The DOH aims for more government offices to take steps in pro-moting 100 percent Smoke Free Environment and join the selection next year.

The standards and requirements of a 100% to-bacco-free environment are strict. Among these standards are: enforcement of tobacco control policies, provision of information and education to warn people about the hazards of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, delivery of smoking cessation services, among others.

The DOH Red Orchid Awards recognizes best practices to implement the World Health Organi-zation Framework Convention on Tobacco Con-trol (WHO FCTC) Article 8 or the protection from exposure to tobacco smoke. This year, the World No Tobacco Day highlights the WHO FCTC, one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in the history of the United Nations with 172 Par-

ties (countries), including the Philippines. The cam-paign is designed to highlight the treaty's overall im-portance and to stress the need for Parties to meet their obligations under the treaty.

The journey to this award started when our Regional Direc-

tor, Myrna P. Pablo, tabbed “Lino, I believe we are a good

contender” attached to DOH-CAR‟s invitation for us to par-

ticipate in this search that promotes health in workplaces

through the adoption of tobacco control policies utilizing

the “MPOWER” strategies designed by the World Health

Organization. These strategies are explained below to-

gether with their corresponding indicators:

Strategy

M onitor tobacco use and prevention policies

P rotect people from tobacco smoke

O ffer help to clients to quit tobacco use/smoking

W arn about dangers of tobacco

E nforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship

R aise taxes on tobacco (Waived for DOH offices, hospitals and other government offices categories and applies only to local government units)

Non-smokers: Dressed appropriately for the awarding rites

are Andrea Tactay, PD Freda M. Gawisan and PMD Head

Lino Cungihan who motored to Manila to receive the Red

Orchid trophy.

32

Personal Computers for Public Schools Phase 4 (PCPS4)

With funding support from the Government of Japan, the Department of Trade and Industry has been spearheading the implementation of Person-al Computers for Public Schools (PCPS) since June 2001. Phases 1, 2 and 3 of PCPS, which received a total grant of approximately P1.8 B from the Gov-ernment of Japan, have provided 3,714 public high schools with computers and, thus, reduced the computer backlog in secondary public education from 75% in 2001 to 37% to date. Last July 1, 2010, the Government of Japan ap-proved the “Luzon and Visayas Component, of Phase 4 of the PCPS (PCPS4)” under the Japanese Non-Project Grant Assistance Countervalue Funds (NPGA-CVF). The 320-M peso grant will provide eleven (11) desktop computers and computer pe-ripherals to each of 775 public high school benefi-ciaries in Luzon and Visayas. The list of recipient schools was prepared by the Department of Trade and Industry in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) Central Office. Among the priority schools for this batch are PCPS Phase 1 schools that have not been recip-ients of other computerization programs and new-ly established schools that are still without com-puters. For the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), based on the final list given by the Office of Special Concerns of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), there are thirty-two (32) recipient schools broken down as follows with eleven (11) state-of-the-art computers for each school beneficiaries:

Abra - 3 Apayao - 3 Baguio City - 2 Benguet - 5 Ifugao - 8 Kalinga - 6 Mt. Province - 5 Total 32

A Regional Orientation on the deployment scheme for PCPS4 shall be on June 3, 2011 at Hotel Su-preme, Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City. The said orientation shall be attended by the Principal or Computer Teacher of each recipient school, DepEd Division Coordinators and PCPS4 DTI Provincial and Regional Coordinators. Andrea L. Tactay, Program Management Division PCPS Regional Coordinator

Indicators

No. of policy issuance on tobacco control/anti-smoking initia-tives.

No. of coordinator/s handling tobacco prevention and control program.

Budget allotted for tobacco control program activities

Personnel costs of staff handling the tobacco control program, including contractual staff

No. of non-smoker staff recruited for vacant plantilla posts

No. of smoke-free establishments where training and other capacity building activities were held

No. of “no smoking” signages posted in strategic places

No. of anti-tobacco researches including surveillance studies supported financial by the office

Implement DOH-CSC Joint Memorandum Circular on FCTC Art. 5.3.

Totally NO designated smoking area within the area of juris-diction

No. of kinds of IEC materials development, reproduced and disseminated.

No. of kinds of IEC materials displayed in the offices

No. of advocacy activities on tobacco control program con-ducted.

No. of multidisciplinary staff dedicated to providing smoking cessation services.

No. of smoking cessation coordinator

Presence of smoking cessation facilities

No. of callers availing of quitline services

No. of smokers assisted through brief intervention counseling either on one-on-one basis or group counseling

No. of medical practitioners/specialists to be tapped in the provision of pharmacologic intervention to smokers

No. of patients asked regarding their smoking status.

Profile of smokers in the office.

No. of smokers classified as to action taken by the office (reprimand, referred for cessation counseling, fined, etc.)

No. of patients benefited by the enhanced outpatient benefit package for Minors and Overseas Workers Program and par-ticularly on counseling for cessation on smoking

No. of support groups created for smokers who quit

No. of picture-based health warning posters displayed in stra-tegic places in the area of jurisdiction

No. of kinds of prototype graphic/picture-based IEC materials developed

No. of advocacy activities on graphic health information con-ducted

No. of policy issuances stipulating the ban on selling of tobac-co within 100 meters perimeter of the office concerned

No. of tobacco companies denied promotional events/activities.

No. of violations documented by DOH representatives and other DOH staff on the total ban on tobacco advertising in point of sales establishments.

33

1st AGRIKULTURA TRADE FAIR

Previously, the Department of Agrarian Reform con-ducts annually the Agraryo Trade Fair with the main objective of linking the Comprehensive Agrarian Re-form Program (CARP) Beneficiaries with the national market for market testing, exposure and promotions of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries‟ (ARBs) prod-ucts. With the signing of the National Convergence Initia-tive under the Aquino Administration, a bigger and better trade fair was jointly organized and launched this year by the three agency members - the Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - the Agrikultura Trade Fair (ATF). The DTI-CAR, through the CARP, assisted in the evaluation and improvements of the ARB products in the region. Fortunately, majority of the products have recently undergone product development so only four were subjected to packaging and labeling improvement: Potatok Veggie Enriched Cracklings of Bonglo RIC, J&J Strawberry Preserve – Julio & Julia Food Products of Julia Labnas, Alno Nature Products Vegetative Stage Foliar Fertilizer and Flower and Fruit Stage Foliar Fetilizer of Alno Rural Development Cooperative, all from the Benguet Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs). Peculiar to the Cordillera Administrative Region, the DA-DAR-DENR agreed to include the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as member of the Cordille-ra Convergence Initiative, in view of its crucial role in the Agribusiness Enterprise Development. As a re-sult, the agency was involved during the whole re-gional planning process of the ATF. With the theme, “Agraryo, Agrikultura at Kalikasan: A Convergence towards Sustainable Rural Develop-ment,” the first ever Agrikultura Trade Fair was a promotional platform that promoted smallholders‟ products, convergence initiatives undertaken in the field, and engaged partners towards rural develop-ment. The Cordillera Administrative Region‟s institu-tional booth disseminated and publicized the re-gion‟s rural development programs as well as the

banner products per prov-ince: the bamboo and reedcrafts of Abra, the [potted] fresh vegetables and strawberries of Ben-guet, the woodcarvings of Ifugao, the loomwaven products of Kalinga, and the Sabangan Arabica Cof-fee of Mountain Province. The ATF was a three-day event from June 24-26, 2011 at the Megatrade Halls 2 and 3 of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City where guests and participants enjoyed the exhibition and sale of the best Fashion and Accessories (as the loomwoven products of Kalinga and Mountain Province and the Corn Husk Bags of Apayao); Fresh Produce (as the organic upland vegetables, strawberries and cutflow-ers of Benguet); Furniture, Finishing and Home Accessories (as the bamboo and reedcartfs of Abra, the coffee table and therapeutic chair of Apa-yao, the softbrooms and bamboo baskets of Ben-guet, the assorted woodcrafts of Ifugao and the Rat-tan Trays of Kalinga); Processed Food, Wines and Beverages (as the Veggie Noodles, Cornik and Wines of Abra, Cassava Cake, Banana and Taro Chips of Apayao, Potato Chips, Arabica Coffee, Strawberry Preserves of Benguet, the Muscovado Sugar and Assosrted Fruit Wines of Mountain Prov-ince); and Organic, Natural and Wellness (as the Organic Rice of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province and the Gipah Herbal Tea and Yakon Tea of Benguet) products around the country. Likewise, the event organizers delighted them with cooking demonstrations, the Habi at Gawa Fashion Show, and the DENR‟s Teatro Kalikasan.

35

MARCELA B. CARBONEL (+)

She was fondly called mother by her colleagues in DTI-Ifugao, for she was, by virtue of her age and years “in service” as wife and mother, the oldest. So they con-ferred her the title as homage to the wisdom she gained through the years. She was asked mundane questions like how to feed kids properly and nutritiously, to the more serious ones like “how to bring up children”. She started off in DTI as Admin. Asst. II (there was such a position then!), after which as Admin. Officer, then later, as technical staff (TIDS). She was quiet but was a teamplayer. Even when she was diagnosed with Lupus, she tried her best to work, until her health deteriorated and she had to be hospitalized here in Baguio for compli-cations brought about by her illness. She left us peaceful-ly and quietly, like the way she really was when alive, on March 19, 2011. She was 54. She is survived by her husband, Gabriel, and children, Bobby, Gabriel Jr. and Michelle. Manang/Mother Marcela, may you rest in peace! SHERMA LIZA V. GODOY Sherma started as Clerk II of DTI-Ifugao. She became Admin. Officer in 2003. As a staff who mainly functioned under the Finance and Admin. Division, she ably and effectively performed her role. She improved systems and records, and helped build a harmonious working environment. She was also often sought as speaker for DTI sponsored technical trainings, especially on bookkeeping. Truly, she made her presence count… and felt…as an Admin. Officer and “kapamilya” of DTI-Ifugao. She resigned after 13 years on May 15, 2011… after having transferred to different office locations several times…having met with the police after their office was robbed twice… having ministered to the needs of fellow officemates, especially those who got sick ... and died. Hers were trying experiences, but how she handled them was admirable, considering that she was one of the younger staff in Ifugao. Indeed, maturity does not come with age, but with good judgment. She is now helping out in the business of her husband plus started out a business of her own.

ELVIRA I. FREDERICKSON Another Admin. Officer, this time of Kalinga, left DTI to pursue her personal goals, which includes working on her papers for “re”union with her American husband, as well as taking care of herself and her only son, and also coming up with a bayong business of her own. She is a stickler for order and system. She was ad-judged Best Administrative Officer twice, mostly for her timely and accurate reports. She typifies the DTI way of life- goes home late or brings home work just so that her reports can be submitted on time. She had significant contributions to the operations in the office, being true to her function as support to the tech-nical divisions. She helped make the conduct of activi-ties of the office smooth and hassle-free. She is typically “noisy” as you would hear her voice when she works, but she does it endearingly, and she‟s likely sick if she isn‟t. She is also known not just in taking care of the office, but of taking care of her plants/garden as well. This is her way of de-stressing herself from the everyday pres-sures of work. Now, she can garden all day long, for as long as she wants and whenever she wishes, effective June 30, 2011, her last day of work. GERALDINE A. PELOBELLO Gie, as she is fondly called, was a refreshing addition to the DTI-Apayao family in 2008. She was young, youth-ful, full of ideas and idealisms. When she entered as STIDS-CARP, she immersed her-self into the operations as required, and tried to meet everyone‟s expectations, which she did and overwhelm-ingly did more. She got to know the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) and Beneficiaries (ARB) well, worked on what can be done for them, and delivered accordingly. She proposed new ideas; she was always out-of-the-box with her views and concepts. She infused verve and vitality at work. With her transfer to DepEd on July 1, 2011, she will dire-ly be missed because aside from the abovementioned, also helped into the operations of the office, because Apayao only has a small staff complement.

HR Corner

34

2011 CALENDAR OF EVENTS JULY 7-9 PTTC, Manila JULY 14-15 Cordillera Month Celebration with OTOP Exhibits Baguio City Convention Center AUGUST 3-4 SME Caravan, Bangued, Abra SEPTEMBER 2 Victory Day Trade Fair National Otop Fair SM Megamall, Manila OCTOBER 1-31 Consumer Welfare Month NOVEMBER 12-20 IMPAKABSAT 2011 Festival Supermall Filinvest, Alabang NOVEMBER 14-18 Potato Festival Sayangan, Atok, Benguet NOVEMBER 23 Luzon Investment Conference (LICON) Manila DECEMBER 6-10 Abra Week for Peace Christmas Sale 2011 Bangued, Abra December 16-20 CKAPI Pre-Christmas Fair Tabuk City, Kalinga