The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. is hopeful that the recently inked Tatak Pinoy Act will be a huge step towards raising the Philippine food industry and bolstering its competitiveness in the global market.

In a radio interview, a PCAFI official said that the law would aid the national governments in achieving their desire to improve the export production of the Philippines, saying that there has been a negative trade balance in the food sector.

“That is a very good law, and it will satisfy our desire to improve our quality. It will help the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and Department of Agriculture, which are working hard to improve our export products because our exports have decreased and we have a negative trade balance. We really need to improve our exports,” said PCAFI president Danilo Fausto.

He, however, stressed that attention to the implementation of the law is necessary to ensure that it is enacted correctly.

“We have many laws that have been passed, but when it comes to implementation, they are a bit lacking. We need the implementing rules and regulations, the agency that changes the essence of the law,” said Fausto.

Moreover, the PCAFI official noted that one of the problems the local food industry faces is the lack of appropriate labeling, saying that when we export, there must be labeling from the country of origin.

“When we import to the Middle East, the product that comes in there needs to be... when we export, it needs to have a Middle East label. If it's Japanese or Korean, our label should have Korean. Meanwhile, when we import a product, we must require that what comes to us has Tagalog.”

Fausto also cited that there are also problems in logistics, shipping, and the supply chain.

He explained: “For example, we have a durian contract with China, we don't have a supply of durian. We have contracts on banana chips, we are not bored. Those are the problems our exporters face. Besides quality, branding, packaging, and how it is handled, good manufacturing practices must be followed.”

He expressed hopes that stakeholders and key industry players in the local domestic industry would be invited to participate in the formulation of implementing rules and regulations. “We really need to be able to export a lot so that our durian, okra, ube, banana, and mango can help protect our seaweeds as long as we pay attention to them.”

Republic Act 11981, or the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act, according to the Senate, “ encourages, supports, and promotes the production and offering by domestic enterprises of local products and services that are globally competitive.” It also aims to identify programs and requirements, such as innovation infrastructure and facilities for advanced research and incubation, and national and regional innovation hubs, to feature relevant advanced and emerging technology centers.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on Monday, 26 February 2024, signed into law Tatak Pinoy, which he said is “more than a branding exercise as it is about incubating and incentivizing great products that deserve to carry the ‘Made in the Philippines’ trademark.”

“It is about creating products and services of the highest quality because Tatak Pinoy is also about excellence, and as a seal of great workmanship, it must only be applied to those that meet these high standards, and as such, we shall give preference and priority to our products,” he added.