Furniture exporters, headed by Myrna Bituin, proprietor of Betis Crafts Inc. of Pampanga, thanked President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s sound financial policies and support to exporters, which “enabled us to perform well when all our peers in the world were falling.”
In a testimonial given during the Natural Resources Legacy Part II held Friday at the Rizal Hall of Malacañang, Bituin said there had been active interaction between the government and the exporters, particularly furniture exporters, whom she represents as trustee of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., during the past nine years.
Bituin said that the P28-million Pampanga Furniture Training Center for Mt. Pinatubo eruption victims, who were resettled in Madapdap, Sta. Lucia and San Isidro, trained thousands who later found work in the industry.
The skills they developed have also given them the opportunity to be employed in the overseas jobs market. Today, the center is a common trading facility for the marginalized communities in Pampanga.
“We have also forged agreements with furniture centers in the Cagayan region for sustainable source of raw materials,” she said.
Bituin thanked the President for Executive Order No 879 creating the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council, which requires that 25 percent of school desks for public elementary schools utilize bamboos as raw materials.
“Your commitment to Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) on climate change that 500,000 hectares of bamboo be planted by the Council in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Department of Agriculture (DA) have provided a steady and stable source of raw materials for furniture manufacturers,” she said.
The President, she said, also allocated P1 billion for the Export Support Fund and part of the P1.3 billion National Development Program Fund for 2010 to sustain all local materials used by the industry.
“We hope that this initiative can be institutionalized in the new administration,” Bituin said. (PNA) – RMA/OPS/RSM
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