To encourage the public to support Filipino entrepreneurs and help them recover amid the pandemic, Deputy Speaker and Las Pinas Representative Camille Villar has filed a measure seeking to proclaim November as Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month.

In filing House Bill 5682, Villar noted that optimized importation and exportation through the Internet and other technologies have made it more difficult to discern which products are locally-made, leading to limited patronization from our own citizens.

“As we transition to economic recovery and revival, stronger support for local enterprises is crucial now more than ever. Assistance and support in the form of marketing, information, and capacity-building campaigns which can be drivers of sales and advertisement will be substantial to boost local businesses,” she said in a statement.

“This measure recognizes the important role and contributions of homegrown enterprises to the domestic economy, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which employ more than 90 percent of the workforce and bore the brunt of the pandemic,” Villar said.

Under HB 5682, the month of November of every year will be declared as Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month to enhance the opportunities of MSMEs to grow and contribute more meaningfully to job generation, national development, and economic advancement.

The Department of Trade and Industry shall be the lead agency in carrying out activities for Buy Pinoy Month, which shall include wide-ranging trade fairs, bazaars, marketing missions, information dissemination activities, and other similar events featuring Filipino products, inventions, and ingenuity.

Among these is a National Trade Fair that shall be held simultaneously in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao for at least two weeks in November, with participation limited to Filipino producers, service providers, and products.

At the same time, the Philippine Information Agency shall conduct a nationwide information and advocacy campaign for the Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month activities.

Villar said Buy Pinoy Month will have substantial benefits for domestic firms not only during November, as the event also serves as a bridge for local businesses and consumers to maximize their existing value and interest, and to communicate it to a broader horizon.

“Declaring November of each year as the ‘Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month’ provides a huge marketing platform for a national audience, informs buyers of the positive implications of the celebration, and capacitates entrepreneurs to further improve their businesses,” she said.

“In addition, celebrating it during the month of November enables a strategic timing where consumers will have the chance to support local brands during the holiday season, and still maintain a balance of choices in the free market while entrepreneurs gain marketing and sales from prospective consumers,” Villar said. (PNA)