By Gideon C. Corgue
MOLAVE, Zamboanga del
Sur – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-9 Regional Director
Sitti Amina Jain recently commended the Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs
(MSMEs) in the municipalities of Molave and Josefina for availing themselves of
the Shared Service Facility (SSF) project of the agency.
In
her message during the launching and turnover ceremony at Bogo Calapan
Elementary School, Jain said the Molave Abaca Strippers Association (MASA) and
Josefina Abaca Strippers Association (JASA) are so lucky to have availed of the
project, the last under the DTI’s SSF fund for this year.
Jain
said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had allocated P46 million
for the SSF for 2014 but it was only implemented in 2015. “The DBM did not give
us a single cent for the SSF program for 2016 that is why the SSF projects for
MASA and JASA would be our ‘last hurrah’ for the MSMEs,” Jain announced.
“Unlike
the projects of other national government agencies where the cooperators and or
associations will pay the cost of the project that they acquired from the
agencies, these SSFs are given by the DTI to MSMEs for free,” Jain said.
Jain
appealed to MASA and JASA to use the machines productively and profitably
adding that if the associations will fail to use it after six months, the SSF
machines will be pulled out and it will be given to other associations.
“Since
the SSF were given to you free, the government is very strict in monitoring the
utilization of the projects,” Jain explained.
Jain
also disclosed that the department had hired two personnel to monitor the SSF
project. “From time to time, these people together with the staff of provincial
office will monitor the utilization of the equipment.”
Jain
hopes that the facilities will not become a white elephant saying that the
money spent for the projects are the taxpayers’ money.
Provincial
Director Ma. Socorro M. Atay of DTI-Zamboanga del Sur sought the sincere
commitment from the associations to take care of the equipment so as to improve
abaca farmers’ productivity to uplift their living condition.
MASA
president Camilo Villarta in his acceptance speech said he vowed to take care
of the machines saying that it is a great help for them to increase their
income.
“Among atimanon pag-ayo
kini mga makina tungod kay dako ni nga tabang sa imong panginabuhi. Dili na
kami mohimo sa kinaraan nga pamaagi paglanot sa abaca ginamit ang among mga
kamot (We
will take care of these machines. These are a great help to our livelihood. We
will no longer use the traditional method of stripping the abaca with our bare
hands),” Villarta stressed.
Meanwhile,
JASA president Joel Palomares thanked the DTI for its utmost concern to abaca
farmers.