Press Release
Buying Filipino is key to economic recovery: Pangilinan
AS the Philippine economy continues to contract in the 1st quarter of 2021, Senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan encourages everyone to buy local products to stimulate economic recovery. Mahalin natin ang sariling atin, bilhin natin ang mga lokal na produkto ng ating mga kababayan. Sa ganitong paraan kumikita sila at nakakatulong tayo sa kanilang kabuhayan. Mga halimbawa nito ay mga lokal na PPEs, mga produktong agrikultural at pagkain, said Pangilinan. Patuloy tayong nag-iimport ng mga PPEs, samantalang maraming supply na available dito. Dahil sa kakulangan ng demand mayroong nawalan ng trabaho ang 3,500 na manggagawa, said Pangilinan.
Senator Sonny Angara
This is but one of the big questions that I think about constantly as a legislator, considering that our home, the Philippines, a low-middle income country, stills deals with abject poverty, gaping inequalities, widespread hunger and malnutrition, homelessness, and joblessness not to mention a raging pandemic.
I posed this same question during an online lecture which I delivered to graduate students of Stanford University’s Public Policy program. Noted economists and thinkers have already propounded several theories on this matter. But as I argued in the lecture, the most compelling framework is the one proposed by Harvard University’s Ricardo Hausmann and MIT’s Cesar Hidalgo on economic complexity.
Published May 5, 2021, 3:20 PM
Opposition Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Wednesday reiterated his proposal to use local PPEs (personal protective equipment) and other coronavirus disease (C0VID-19) -related needs for the country’s overall economic recovery.
“Pagkakataon ang krisis. Crisis is opportunity. Makaka-recover tayo economically, magkakaroon ng trabaho ang marami kung gagamitin natin ang gawa ng sarili nating mga kababayan (We can recover economically, there will be jobs for many workers if we use locally-made products),” Pangilinan said in reaction to reports that 3,500 workers of local PPE manufacturers have been laid off due to lack of demand.
Pangilinan is the author of Senate Bill 1759, or the Pandemic Protection Act.
Pangilinan to govt: Buy Pinoy-made PPEs, save local jobs, grow economy
SENATOR Francis Kiko Pangilinan reiterates his proposal to use local PPEs (personal protective equipment) and other Covid-related needs for the country s overall economic recovery. Pagkakataon ang krisis. Crisis is opportunity. Makaka-recover tayo economically, magkakaroon ng trabaho ang marami kung gagamitin natin ang gawa ng sarili nating mga kababayan, Pangilinan said in reaction to news that 3,500 workers of local PPE manufacturers have been laid off due to lack of demand. May pangangailangan para sa PPEs at kayang tugunan ng lokal na industriya. Sinabi na natin yan noong una pa, na gamitin natin ang sariling atin para makabangon ulit ang ating ekonomiya, said the author of Senate Bill 1759 or the Pandemic Protection Act.
Published April 30, 2021, 9:30 AM
The government was able to buy only P660 million worth of medical grade personal protective equipment (PPEs) from local manufacturers, which are still suffering from excess capacity due to poor local demand as government procurement policy favors the cheapest price being offered by importers.
Maritess Jocson Agoncillo, executive editor of Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP), said that members of the Confederation of Philippine Manufacturers of PPEs (CPMP) were able to supply the government for the period November-December last year. CONWEP is the parent organization of CPMP.
“Because we were able to only join the government procurement process around end 2020 (Nov/Dec) period, from this only two members out of 5 generated contracts worth around P660 million. Apple to apple analysis, one of our repurposed firm on face mask was not able to ‘qualify’ or generate contract during the December/Nov bidding,” said