EDITORIAL

No Hunger, No Recession In Aklan

by Venus G. Villanueva

Aklanons have what it takes to do business or be entrepreneurs.

In Aklan, there is no recession and there is no hunger despite typhoons.
ASEC Ma. Theresa "Angel" Pelayo Ty expressed this strong belief in the ability of the Aklanons. She is Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Asst. Secretary and the guest speaker during Aklan’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) Congress held recently at the Gov. Corazon Cabagnot Tourism and Training Center, Buswang Old, Kalibo.

ASEC Pelayo-Ty was all praises of the Aklanons’ craftmanships, ingenuity and patience in coming up with world-class products like the loom-woven piña cloth, nitocrafts and other items uniquely produced in the province.

"I visited one piña cloth and nito factory in Kalibo. I was surprised to see a very old woman still adept at weaving piña cloth. I saw how intricate and difficult it is to weave the piña. "It is shameful to bargain," Pelayo Ty said.
Loomwoven products, like the world-class piña cloth, abaca and raffia are Kalibo’s identified OTOP. It is also the Regional Model OTOP for Region 6.

According to Pelayo-Ty, OTOP, pushed by Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005, patterned after Japan’s One Village, One Product (OVOP) prog-ram, is a very effective tool in job generation.

"The reason why we are here is we are united to give OTOP a chance," Pelayo-Ty told the participants, composed of town mayors and other representatives of various local government units in Aklan, business community/entrepreneurs, officers and members of the Provincial Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (PMSMEDC) and the local media.

Pelayo-Ty cited the commitment of local leaders who are running their respective munici-palities like corporations, and the local businessmen who opened themselves to risks. "The risks are as big as rewards, when it is very sweet," Pelayo-Ty stressed, apparently speaking of her own experiences as an entrepreneur before joining the government through DTI.

"When OTOP was launched in 2005, many criticized it as just a copy, and very backward. Today, however, 99 percent of businesses registered are either micro or small enterprises, and it is time to recognize them and thank them for their effort," Pelayo-Ty pointed out.

According to her, 312,000 new jobs are created through OTOP which gave the country an additional revenue of P12 billion and another revenue from trade fairs worth P3.7 billion, excluding export sales.

In Aklan, at least 140 new OTOP MSMEs were established while domestic and export sales from 2005 to present reached P319.7 million and $469,600 respectively.

With the activity’s theme "Negosyo… Kaya Mo!," Pelayo-Ty said "kayang-kaya ng mga Aklanon magnegosyo".

On the basis of what she saw in Aklan, there is big hope, there will be no recession or hunger, even with typhoons.

Aklan, gushed Pelayo-Ty, is very lucky because it has Boracay Island, the world-class piña cloth, abaca, nito products, and lately, organically-produced fruits and vegetables.

Numancia: Best OTOP

The town of Numancia, which produces organically-produced fruits and vegetables through vermicast, the muni-cipality’s OTOP, garnered all the top awards in the OTOP Congress as Best OTOP LGU Implementer, Outstanding OTOP MSME, and Most Supportive OTOP Partner through its cooperative. "With your support, OTOP will be very successful", she said.

Aklan towns’ OTOPs range from swine/livestock, organic fruits and vegetables, grouper culture, eco-tourism, coco-based products, Indigenous fiber-based loom-woven products, potteries, abaca fibers, seafoods, bariw crafts, abaca slippers, deboned bangus and vermicast organic fertilizer.

Pelayo Ty urged Aklan leaders to look into the state of entrepreneurs.

The DTI ASEC, daughter of Candaba, Pampanga Mayor Jerry Pelayo traced her roots in Aklan. She expressed her willingness to be an Ambassador of Aklan – being proud of the province’s loom-woven products, good food, beautiful sceneries, charming people and many other assets. /MP