The launch of the Tatak Pinoy Strategy Office (TPSO) and the sector development units (SDUs) is one of the most immediate activities that will be undertaken this year by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to implement the recently approved Tatak Pinoy Strategy (TPS).

Ma. Theresa Faustino, administrative head of the DTI’s TPSO, bared this during the fourth quarter general membership meeting of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. last month.

Multi-year, multi-stakeholder roadmap

Approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on 24 October 2025, the Tatak Pinoy Strategy is a multi-year, multi-stakeholder roadmap that aligns government and private sector efforts toward increasing the competitiveness of Philippine industries on the global market, moving domestic enterprises up the global value chain, creating more quality jobs for Filipino workers, and helping local companies offer more diverse and sophisticated products and services, Faustino said.

She stressed that the TPS, which will be executed from 2025 to 2040, is different from earlier industrial policies because it is backed by a legal mandate, the Tatak Pinoy Act, guaranteeing continuity and “the necessary institutional support to ensure its effective implementation.”

The TPSO is the implementing arm of the TPS and the Tatak Pinoy Act or Republic Act 11981, which mandates the development and execution of a national industrial policy for making Philippine products globally competitive.

Address serious challenges faced by industry

The executive said the Strategy seeks to address the serious challenges the Philippine industry faces, including “the stagnation of manufacturing, the small and disconnected nature of manufacturing firms, limited diversification of our exports, low investment in innovation, and the shift in employment toward low-skill, low-pay services.”

She said manufacturing — the backbone of prosperous economies — is unfortunately on a decline in the Philippines. Accounting for about 22 percent of GDP in 2000, Philippine manufacturing share has shrunk to 17.6 by 2024.