Sa pamilya ng DOTR, na pinangungunahan po ni Secretary Art Tugade na aking seatmate sa Cabinet meetings.

 

Our newest partner, sabi ng ni GM, this will not be the last, but only the first of its kind of branch that would be located in SSI (Store Specialists, Inc.), led by Mr. Anthony Huang. Si Mr. Huang nakakasama ko na yan sa mga investment roadshows before when I was in the private sector.

 

Of course ang isang malaking ka-partner din po natin, ang Double Dragon sa mga City Malls, Mr. Federico Gutierrez;

 

Dr. Jun Valderrama na maraming pinapatakbong Go Lokal! Even in the DTI showroom, sina Dr. Jun ang nag-ooperate po niyan.

 

Air 21 team, Joseph Panganiban. Sasabihin ko na, 50% off ang kanilang logistics requirements para sa mga Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

 

Ms. Felicisima Enriquez, Rustan’s Commercial Corporation.

 

Dr. Nathaniel Von Einsiedal of CONCEP.

 

Duty Free COO Mr. Vicente Angala,

 

Mactan Cebu Airport DCCO Ms. Cristina Angan.

 

At ang Go Lokal! Team ng DTI, ang Trade and Investments Promotions Group, lahat po ng DTI officials, Undersecretaries, lahat po ng staff at lahat o kayo na nandito dahil kabahagi po kayo ng Go Lokal!

 

Ang Go Lokal! po ay, tulad ng inexplain kanina ng ating kasamang host, ay isa lamang paraan para matulungan ang ating mga SMEs. Matapos matulungan ang mga SMEs sa design, product development. As you know, ang atin pong Pangulo, ang puso niya ay nasa malilit na negosyante. Inambisyon po natin na palakasin sila.

 

Ang for them to be empowered, it does not stop at giving them seminars. It has to continue with mentoring, with product development, marketing and branding. Financing as well with Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso.

 

Aside from that, kailangang mabigyan ng market access ang mga produkto natin. And Go Lokal! is really a concept that will really give market access to SME products. And this time, these are not ordinary SME products. For them to be competitive, we always challenge them. Para ma-display ang produkto ninyo sa Go Lokal! kailangan napakaganda, bago. It has to be modern, innovate, yet still very Filipino ang treatment. Filipino-inspired set of products.

 

It will be curated bago po mabigyan ng pagkakataong masama sa Go Lokal! so that it becomes and incentive for them to continuously innovate. We’re happy to show the world, especially yung mga paalis. Napansin niyo, dati nasa DTI, tapos napunta sa mga malls (Robinson’s City Mall, Rustan’s), papalapit na tayo ng papalapit, ngayon nasa airport na. Susunod, lilipad na tayo kasi mapupunta na sa ibang countries ang Go Lokal!.

 

Kung naalala ko, sa France ata yung unang branch. I’m not kidding. Go Lokal! will also be set up in other countries, carrying of course the Go Lokal! Philippine brand. They are really modern but indigenous products.

 

Kaya natuwa po ako sa reaction ninyo, Mr. Huang, na medyo kakaiba yung ating mga produkto ngayon. Of course with young designers and artists: Common Room, ang mga designers sa Design Center of the Philippines. They’re helping us a lot to really upgrade the products that we have [for them to be] something that we can be proud of. Hindi na po ‘yan yung banig at mga bag nadikit sa damit ay nasisira yung damit.

 

Yung mga woven products give a different treatment to clothing. It becomes a modern accessory to clothing that everyone can and should buy. Hindi lang pang-costume party. Kundi pang-everyday wear with a touch of indigenous art.

 

And to our store partners; ang dalawa nating online partners, Shopinas and Marketa, retail stores, isa ring retail store na kasama Enchanted Kingdom, Thank you.

 

Go Lokal! now has 58 retail stores, 332 suppliers, 81 MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) in fact have been mainstreamed. Yan po ang isa pang goal ng DTI, to really mainstream MSME products. No longer limited to the weekend trade fair typo of activity on Friday-Saturday-Sunday at the top floor of a mall. We want them to be in the ground floor. Tulad po nito, where people converge.

 

So 81 mainstreamed and 1,000 products already developed. So we’ve had several support from product specialists, designers. And we counted also the rental spaces that they’re able to enjoy. Nakikita talaga natin yung malaking benepisyo sa MSMEs.

 

We’re told that it’s now a household brand, heavily shared on social media, #CertifiedLokalista, the hashtag of Go Lokal!, has become a byword among millennials, netizens, and other active social media users.

 

We are also in electronic billboards along EDSA. We’re also in PDI (Philippine Daily Inquirer), Philstar (Philippine Star), and the Mabuhay Magazine of the Philippine Airlines.

 

Go Lokal! continues to excite its buyers by introducing new products and fresh concepts for the Philippine Souvenir Industry. These were created by young entrepreneurs who are makers and artists as well. Recently launched at the Go Lokal! Concept Store last July 04, these entrepreneurs expressed their insights on Philippine culture through products with quirky stories. It is the millennials’ take on the Filipino lifestyle. Ito na po yung grupo ng Common Room. Now we’re launching it at Kiss and Fly Terminal 3. Salamat SSI for this partnership. And also to MIA (Manila Airport Authority).

 

As you know, the airport is an ideal captive market for Filipinos and foreigners who will be travelling abroad. Of course with SSI as a partner, makakaasa po tayo na madadala niya ang Go Lokal! to the next level.

 

With that, ito po yung sinasabi ko. May pop-up store na itatayo, sa Tokyo muna. Sa Japan Institute of Design, and in a way to test market the products. Of course, through CITEM, we joined a lot of fairs outside the country. Isa na nga dyan in France and other countries. Even in China as well, soon. Sa October we have CAEXPO. Sa November we have the China International Import Expo. So all these products will definitely reach other countries.

 

This is really an exciting afternoon for SMEs. Patuloy nating palakasin ang SMEs. Yan po ang sikreto sa poverty alleviation na suportadong suportado ng ating President Duterte. Dahil ito po talaga ang mag-aangat ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan. Maraming salamat po.