INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
A top official at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Monday said they are looking to release by December an initial list of domestically-produced goods and services that will be given preference in government bid contracts as part of the recently passed Tatak Pinoy Act.
Trade undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said they are still completing the list and working with both local and foreign experts to finish the roster.
READ: Tatak Pinoy Act to boost local industries’ competitiveness — DTI
“Our target is that by December we will have a draft, and this will be presented publicly so we can get feedback, suggestions, so that we will have a better Tatak Pinoy strategy,” Aldaba told reporters during the Tatak Pinoy Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center.
“It will be a multi-year list. We are looking at having a list that is short-run, middle-run and long-run,” she added.
The list is part of the several measures under the Tatak Pinoy Act, one of the priority legislations under Marcos, which was enacted earlier in February.
Under the law, and its implementing rules and regulations signed late May, preference will be given to Philippine-made products and services in a bid to strengthen local industry.
The period given for this under the law is 10 years upon the effectivity of the law, but allows for an extension if Congress deem it as necessary.
A Tatak Pinoy Council will also be established under the law that will serve as the policy and advisory body of the president on creating policies and programs to diversify the productive capabilities of domestic enterprises.
READ: Angara: Tatak Pinoy law ‘a giant leap’ to becoming an industrialized PH
The secretariat will be appointed from a list of five nominees within the DTI.
During the same event, trade secretary Alfredo Pascual said that the Tatak Pinoy initiative is also crucial to president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s industrial policy which seeks to propel local enterprises toward producing diverse, sophisticated, high-quality products and services.
“This strategic direction empowers us to confidently navigate industrialization, thereby increasing economic grow