Tatak Pinoy in the global arena: Strengthening the nation’s competitive advantage and national pride

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. Last Nov. 1, while discussing in this column the government’s support for micro small, and medium enterprises (MSMES) through investments, I also shared that our lawmakers were close to passing the Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Filipino bill, one of the legislative priorities of President Bongbong Marcos (PBBM) to support local businesses.

Now, I am excited to share that both chambers of Congress have ratified the bicameral conference committee report on disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2426 and House Bill (HB) No. 8525 on Dec.13. The reconciled version of the bill, upon approval of PBBM, will promote Filipino-made goods and services.

I concur with House Speaker Martin Romualdez when he said during the Dec. 12 plenary session, when HB No. 8525 was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives on the third and final reading, that “the Tatak Pinoy Act is a crucial step toward transforming our economy by encouraging collaboration with the private sector and enhancing the competitiveness of local enterprises.”

The law, once passed, will enable our country to develop policies and programs to “diversify the productive capabilities of local businesses and strengthen the country’s economic complexity.” The Observatory of Economic Complexity’s Economic Complexity Index based on trade data reports that our country ranks 37th out of 131 countries in 2021. This is higher than Indonesia (61), but is lower than the rest of the ASEAN-5, i.e., Singapore (6), Malaysia (24), and Thailand (29).

Moreover, the Philippine Statistics Authority announced that as of October 2023, the total value of exports from January to October 2023 was US$60.91 billion. Compared to the total export value of US$66.08 billion from January to October 2022, this indicates an annual decrease of 7.8 percent.

Hence, I believe that this landmark legislation is essential to our economic recovery, in attaining our agenda for prosperity, and in instilling pride in our local products.

In the Senate, Senator Sonny Angara advanced the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) bill to develop industries, propel the economy forward, create more opportunities, and increase incomes for Filipinos. I agree with him when he stated in his sponsorship speech for the Tatak Pinoy Bill that it is past time to implement a national strategy to accelerate the expansion and reshaping of the Philippine economy through a strong partnership between the state and the private sector.

Hence, the proposal mandates all relevant government agencies to work in tandem with the private sector, ensuring their efforts align with helping Filipino enterprises produce better products and offer world-class services, resulting in better jobs and income opportunities.

I also concur with the good Senator that the country must constantly diversify its goods and services, produce more workers, and have the infrastructure, good governance, clear regulations, and a research and development (R&D) ecosystem enabling such.

Thus, the proposed law establishes a Tatak Pinoy Council (TP Council) to serve as the policy and advisory body to the President. The

Council will formulate policies and programs to diversify and enhance domestic enterprises' productive capabilities and increase economic complexity in the Philippines. The Council will be chaired by the Secretary of Trade and Industry and vice-chaired by the Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Secretary of Finance. I am glad to learn that the Department of Budget and Management will serve as a member along with other national government agencies and private sector representatives.

One of the main tasks of the TP Council is to formulate the multi-year Tatak Pinoy Strategy (TPS) that will outline the plan and action components for the country and subnational geographic clusters, and is organized into five Pillars: (1) human resources; (2) infrastructure; (3) technology and innovation; (4) investments; and (5) sound financial management. It aims to empower local government units and public sector instrumentalities to enhance the diversity and sophistication of Philippine products and services. The TPS also includes branding and marketing of Philippine-made products to increase market access and consumers.

Further, the TP Council will develop a roadmap, in consultation with the academe and industry, to ensure adequate and skilled human resources to support the target sectors and economic activities identified in the TPS. Meanwhile, infrastructure programs will be identified through the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Committee on Infrastructure of the NEDA Board, the Department of Education, and the Department of Transportation, among other agencies. The TPS will also focus on strategic R&D activities and technology transfer initiatives, ensuring alignment with the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document.

Additionally, I am happy to note that in relation to our pursuit of modernizing the public procurement system, the bill also provides that domestic products and services in sectors covered by the TPS shall be given preference and priority in government procurement for a period of 10 years. I am positive that this will further assist the more than 1.1 million business enterprises operating in the country, composed of 99.59 percent MSMES.

We, in the PBBM administration, are committed to supporting domestic enterprises in producing and offering sophisticated products and services, focusing on sustainable production practices and green technologies. With the highly appreciated swift passage of the Proudly Filipino Bill, we can do this through a whole-of-government approach, just as our President has envisioned.

Beyond budget, with the Tatak Pinoy Act in place, we will be able to enhance our global competitive advantage, address a wide range of challenges such as poverty, poor wages, and rural-to-urban migration, and instill national pride in locally made products. We hope that the law will open doors to greater and better employment opportunities, and an inclusive, stable, and future-ready economy that will raise the standard of living for our citizens.