BAY, LAGUNA — The Department of Trade and Industry – Laguna Provincial Office (DTI-Laguna) in partnership with Calamba Manpower Development Center (CMDC) held a successful training seminar with diverse topics from Food Safety, Packaging and Labeling Requirements, Pricing and Costing, Google My Business, to Consumer Rights and Responsibilities at Sectoral Affairs Conference Room, City Hall, Calamba City, Laguna, last May 31, 2023.

The event was attended by the personnel from CMDC and Tourism Sector together with their trainees and graduates from qualifications in bread and pastry production, culinary arts, and food and beverages services under Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. A total of seventy-three (73) participants were recorded in attendance. The theme of the event centered on shaping the food industry in the coming years and providing business and consumer education to potential and existing micro, small, and medium enterprises in Laguna.

This activity was presided by the moderator, Ms. Joanna Marie M. Malihan, and coming after was an invocation led by Ms. Zenisa S. Alinsunurin. This was followed by a warm welcome message from Ms. Celina Dacara-Manabat, RSW, Department Head of City Social Services Department, and the formal introduction of the resource speakers from Mr. Tonymer Victor L. Castillo, Manpower Development Officer I.

The first resource speaker, Ms. Josephine Ballesteros, DTI-Laguna Negosyo Center Business Counsellor assigned in Siniloan, discussed about Food Safety. She highlighted the importance of food safety and how it plays an important role in the reputation of an establishment. According to Ballesteros, if foods are not safe, negative outcomes will happen including loss of earnings, negative media exposure, lawsuits, lowered staff morale, and possibly death. She also cited the Food Safety Act 2013 (Republic Act No. 10611), an act to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the country to protect consumer health and facilitate market access of local foods and food products and for other purposes.

The second speaker, Mr. Cris Mark Bermudo, DTI-Laguna Negosyo Center Business Counsellor assigned in Mabitac, tackled the Packaging and Labeling Requirements. For packaging, he mentioned the phrase “protects what it sells, and sells what it protects” and discussed the importance of packaging for food safety as it protects the food from contamination, improves shelf life, protects from physical damage, and maintains the freshness of the food. He also emphasized the requirements for labeling that it should not contain a false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression.

The third speaker, Ms. Rica Mae Garcia, DTI-Laguna Negosyo Center Business Counsellor assigned in Majayjay, talked about Pricing and Costing as she highlighted the significance of pricing, strategies of pricing, importance of costing, and different ways to maximize your profit using the right pricing and costing.

The fourth speaker, Mr. Nicols Consignado, DTI-Laguna Negosyo Center Business Counsellors assigned in Santa Maria, showed the step-by-step process on navigating Google My Business. The objective of this topic is to turn people on how to find and create a business profile with Google as this is an easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage online presence across Google.

The fifth and last speaker, Ms. Avegail Agojo, DTI-Laguna Negosyo Center Business Counsellor assigned in Bay, imparted knowledge about the Rights and Responsibilities of Consumers. She started the flow with the question “Naloko na ba kayo (as a consumer)?” as this topic focused on how the consumers should be more conscious and cautious in selecting products and services with an assurance of quality and safety at its competitive price. Other than that, she also deliberated and gave examples and scenarios to the eight (8) rights and five (5) responsibilities of consumers.

To end the fruitful seminar, a closing remark was delivered by CMDC Supervising Manpower Development Officer Mr. Leonardo D. Dela Cruz, Jr. and certificates of appreciation to the resource speakers and partners were awarded spearheaded by Ms. Charito L. Sarmiento together with the CMDC Officers, Trainers, and Staff. ♦

Date of Release: 14 June 2023

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