BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
TUGUEGARAO CITY (November 28)—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) has launched its 16th “Padday na Lima” Regional Trade and Investment Fair in support of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) products in the region.
Officially opened on Friday, November 25, at Robinsons Place Tuguegarao, this year’s Padday na Lima (Ibanag word for “made by hands”) is tagged as the first-ever all-in-one edition of this annual celebration bringing holiday cheer and vibes.
Manilyn Castañeda Ponce, DTI Region 2 information officer, said the products are also available online through the Padday na Lima Webshop, the online component of the trade pavilion, https://paddaynalima.delivere.tech.
Ponce said this year’s expanded version features investment opportunities, new product innovations, pre-processed institutionally packed products, the first-ever Buyer’s Program, Philippine National Standard-certified products, research and development outputs and high-quality items made by the local MSMEs.
She also said these were developed with the assistance of the country’s top designers: Stanley Ruiz, Pj Arañador and Njord Chua.
During the opening, Mayor Maila Ting Que welcomed guests and participants and pointed out the goal of revitalizing the economy by helping the MSMEs continuously innovate and making the industry and products of the region globally competitive.
Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona of the DTI Regional Operations Group spoke of the agency’s efforts to intensify its programs and services to upgrade the MSMEs.
Lantayona expressed her excitement to see the outcome of the first-ever investment fair and how it can potentially address gaps in the value chain of the region’s priority industry clusters.
She also acknowledged the support of local government units, national government agencies and other event partners and urged the public to patronize local products.
Leah Pulido Ocampo, DTI Region 2 director, said they are hoping to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones to realize the vision of making the region’s products scale up in the market.