ILOILO CITY (PNA) - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) led the launching of the engineered bamboo project which highlighted the week-long celebration of the Iloilo Bamboo Week here. The celebration, which is now on its seventh year, served as a venue for the DTI and participating agencies and sectors to showcase various products made of bamboo in line with the government's thrust to promote the material for climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation. DTI Provincial Director Wilhelm Malones said that three sites have been identified for engineered bamboo production in Iloilo. The sites include: the Bambooza Engineered Bamboo in Sta Barbara; Purewood Marketing in Leganes; and the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) Bamboo Enterprise Development Project in Miagao. He said that they have been encouraging the Purewood Marketing to gradually reduce its use of wood for its products and shift to engineered bamboos. The UPV Bamboo Enterprise Development Project advocates for the setting up of nurseries for bamboo plantations and the harvest of which will be used as materials for engineered bamboos.
Malones explained that the promotion of the engineered bamboo anchored on Executive Order (EO) 879 where the Department of Education (DepEd) has been directed to allot 10 percent of its budget for fixtures and furniture made of engineered bamboo such as desks for public elementary and secondary schools. Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has to allot 20 percent of the area intended for reforestation program to bamboo plantation.
The DTI sits as the head of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council at the national level. Iloilo has been chosen as the pilot area for Visayas, Malones added. The week-long exhibit also generated the support of the local government units (LGUs) of Talisay from Negros Occidental, Guimaras, and Antique. Malones added that with their participation, the activity has become a regional bamboo resource fair. The said LGUs, specifically Talisay, are also propagating bamboos as part of their One Town, One Product (OTOP) program, Malones said.
