The Philippine government is reviving the “buy local” campaign due to the Covid-19 pandemic which is transforming the entire business landscape said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez.
In an interview with DZRH radio station on Friday, May 22, Secretary Lopez said the “buy local” campaign aims to promote products and services of domestic enterprises to help them recover from losses during the two-month lockdown to curb the virus outbreak.
“We will revive the ‘buy local’ campaign to stimulate buying Filipino products. It’s a big help to Filipino entrepreneurs,” he said, noting that the procurement office of the Department of Budget and Management prioritizes buying supplies for COVID-19-related products from the local industry.
Further, Secretary Lopez added that many companies have repurposed their businesses in order to produce critically needed products such as face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to help combat the pandemic. Also noting that this is also the industry’s actions as a result of several countries’ banning their exports of COVID-19-related products to cater to their own needs. Some distilleries have even moved to producing isopropyl and ethyl alcohol to serve the surging local demand.
Garments exporters are now making medical-grade PPE coveralls and face masks while electronics companies are also producing ventilators.
Textile factories, garment plants, yarning spinning mills, electronics assembly plants, injection molding facilities, and prototyping shops are also seen to be repurposed to produce examination and surgical gloves, protective gowns, face shields, particulate respirators, and surgical masks.
Automotive product lines, aerospace manufacturing plants, specialized engineering service, testing facilities, manufacturing technology, and innovation centers, vacuum cleaner assembly, and machining shops can also augment the supplies for clinical care equipment, such as pulse oximeters, nasal oxygen cannula, adult and pediatric ventilators, and mechanical suction pump.
