Iloilo Third District Board Member Jason Gonzales (left) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building that will house the SSF on Garments Making in Lambunao, Iloilo. He is assisted by Municipal Mayor Reynor Gonzales (far right), Vice Mayor Arvin Losaria (second from right) and DTI Iloilo Provincial Office Trade Industry Development Analyst Shayne Jornadal (third from right).
Iloilo Third District Board Member Jason Gonzales (left) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building that will house the SSF on Garments Making in Lambunao, Iloilo. He is assisted by Municipal Mayor Reynor Gonzales (far right), Vice Mayor Arvin Losaria (second from right) and DTI Iloilo Provincial Office Trade Industry Development Analyst Shayne Jornadal (third from right).

The Shared Service Facility (SSF) on Garments Making got a facelift as the co-operator, the Municipality of Lambunao, Iloilo, has transferred the facility to its new home which was inaugurated last August 12.

Former Lambunao Mayor and now Iloilo Third District Board Member Jason Gonzales led the blessing and inauguration of the new building together with Lambunao Mayor Reynor Gonzales and Vice Mayor Arvin Losaria.

“The original structure housing our garments factory was a temporary structure and ill-located in the complex,” the board member said. “The local government unit started allocating funds for the permanent structure during my term and it was finished this year.’

The new garments building is now located at Brgy. Poblacion Ilawod.

“The new facility will keep our equipment and facilities secure, give our workers a better quality workspace, and allow our operation to grow and expand,” Board Member Gonzales added.

Presently, the garments facility employs 32 workers, composed mostly of sewers/ seamstresses. The rest are pattern makers, cutters, quality controller, layout artist, bookkeeper, and front desk staff

The SSF on Garments Making in Lambunao, Iloilo was established in 2015.

The DTI provided the machines which included a rotary machine, 19 units of edging machine, 11 single high-speed sewing machine, three units piping machine, and one-unit 15HP generator. In 2018, the facility was upgraded and additional machines were provided comprising of six heads of embroidery machine and a 6×6 rotary printing machine.

For the past years, the facility has augmented economic activity of the municipality gaining P2.6M in 2017, P3.1M in 2018, and P2.9M last year. It makes basketball jerseys and office uniforms, among others.

DTI’s SFF Program is meant to improve MSME competitiveness by providing machinery, equipment, tools, systems, accessories and other auxiliary items, skills and knowledge under a shared system.

The SSF Program is a public-private partnership initiative being implemented through cooperators who can house the machinery and equipment and make these accessible to MSMEs.♦

Date of Release: 19 August 2020