Former Taytay Mayor Joric Gacula on Wednesday expressed alarm over the sudden decline of the local garments industry due to an influx of vendors from other areas.

“Taytay-made garments are affordable, well-made, and have strong seams,” Gacula said. “Our materials are very competitive with imported ones as they also use good quality materials.”

Landowners and organizers have been communicating with sellers, yet many businesses have closed due to the distance of their establishments and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.

Gacula learned from councilors that tiangge sellers were dissatisfied with the municipal government’s handling of violence and traffic issues in the area.

Stall fees have increased from approximately P3,000 to P8,000, according to Gacula.

The Taytay garments industry is a small business sector that employs many people.

Gacula advocated for the Barangay Microbusiness Enterprise program, which offers tax breaks. He hopes the Bureau of Internal Revenue will consider the garments industry as a backyard industry, exempting them from regulations for larger businesses.

He also said that people patronize Taytay garments because of their quality and competitive cost.

Taytay garments surpassed China’s products in quality. Since the 1970s and 1980s, the woodworks industry flourished in Taytay, but later transitioned to the transport industry and other businesses.