Domingo “Dominic” R. Tolentino, Jr. took his Oath of Office before President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as Assistant Secretary (Asec) of the Department of Trade and Industry, Regional Operations Group, at the Malacañang Palace on 03 March 2020.

Asec Tolentino lives by PRRD’s motto “by working together, we build a nation where citizens are empowered.” and former DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, “more grassroot approach in programs and livelihood intervention to widen the reach of the marginalized sectors providing skills, jobs, business.”

Asec Dominic, as he is fondly called, is designated by virtue of Department Order 20-52, tasking him as the following major programs of this administration;

1. National Coordinator, Livelihood Seeding Program – Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (LSP-NSB)
2. National Coordinator, Diskwento Caravan
3. ROG In-Charge, Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program

Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary, he served as the Director of the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau of the DTI-Consumer Protection Group, in which he ensured regulation of importation as provided by trade agreements and conduct market surveillance and enforcement to ensure compliance with trade and industry law, among others.

Further, Asec Tolentino is a former Director of the Consumer Policy and Advocacy Bureau, the office that develops advocacies and policies to ensure a fair marketplace for both the consumers and businesses. He is responsible for heightening consumer awareness program and bringing basic necessities and prime commodities to the Barangay and likewise the Serbisyo sa Barangay. He handles policy and advocacy programs. Asec. Tolentino hails from Cavite City and comes from the Tolentino Clan.

He is a known to be a seasoned operations management executive with expertise in Marketing, Promotion, Local Government Administration, Planning, Urban Development, Project Management, Trade and Industry, Consumer Policy, Advocacy and Protection.

Before joining the DTI, he spearheaded the Resettlement Program to uplift the living conditions of the disadvantaged people of the community, developed, and implemented a comprehensive and integrated housing development and resettlement programs, the Chief of the Housing Development and Resettlement Department and former Cavite Majority Leader of the Cavite Provincial Legislator and National Chairman of Board Member League.

He is part of the economic team who is responsible for lowering the inflation by saturating the rice in the market. Former Head Executive Assistant of the Department of Labor and Employment and also a former Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Trade Tourism.

He represented the Philippines during the ASEAN Regional Forum on the Promotion of Sustainable Consumption and one of DTI’s representatives to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on Digital Marketing and Promotion held in Varas, Chile last 20-26 August 2019. Also in the ASEAN-USPTO Workshop on Intellectual Property Enforcement, Public Awareness and Consumer Behavior last 07-09 November 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bureau of Market Development, Promotions, and OTOP (BMDPO)
Mandated to promote the efficient marketing of local products and services through the conduct of marketing events, such as trade fairs, in-store displays, exhibits, and local trade missions; expand and strengthen linkages among MSMEs through information exchange and business matching activities; and create awareness of domestic marketing opportunities for new projects, technologies, and investments. The Bureau also maintains a domestic market database of local raw materials suppliers, local semi-processed products suppliers, local finished products suppliers, and buyers (institutional and big buyers)

Dr. Leonila T. Baluyut

ASec Leny Baluyut is a Doctor of Business Administration, who graduated with High Distinction (Magna Cum Laude). She is a Career Executive Service Officer (CESO) who rose from the ranks. She was the former DTI Central Luzon Regional Director (the biggest region in the country with 7 provinces). ASec Leny has been a consistent academic scholar from her High School years until she finished her Bachelor in Business Administration, and Master in Business Management from the University of the Philippines.

She is a graduate of various executive & leadership discipline from the Asian Institute of Digital Transformation (Singapore); the Civil Service College of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Her learning experiences include SME development, economic, trade, investment, and social development in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. She was part of the team that crafted and promoted the Central Luzon Development Program.

ASec Leny is “The Outstanding Alumni (TOA)” year 2022 of the Angeles University Foundation. She is a two-time PAG ASA (Group) Awardee and a recipient of the DTI National SPRINTs (System on Performance Rewards & Incentives) Award.

She is a co-author of 2 published business researches entitled “Financial Performance Pre and During COVID-19 Pandemic of Listed Companies in the Philippines Stock Exchange for 2019-2020” and the “Central Luzon MSMEs Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) in the New Normal.”

DTI R2 Regional Director Leah Pulido Ocampo is a graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with Majors in Economics and Sociology. She took her Master in Government Management at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and topped the Comprehensive Exams.

She attended trainings in International Trade and Export Promotion in The Netherlands; Investment Promotion in China; Digitalization for MSMEs in Vietnam; and MSME Development in Japan; and she is a Career Executive Service Officer (CESO) III, who emerged as top 3 in her batch nationwide when she took the Career Executive Service Written Examination.

Prior to becoming Regional Director of the Department of Trade and Industry Region 2, she had 23 years of solid experience in industry development, MSME development, and export marketing and promotion as she occupied various key positions at the export promotions agency of the DTI, the Center for International Expositions and Missions or CITEM.

During her tenure at CITEM, she served as the Project Director for the agency’s major export promotion events, including Manila FAME, International Food Exhibition (IFEX), Create Philippines, Go Lokal Program, Foodex Japan, Gulfood in Dubai, NY Now in New York, Boston Seafood Show, Anuga, China Asean Expo in Nanning, China, and Expo Seville in Seville, Spain.

She led delegations for numerous Philippine Business Missions across key cities worldwide, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe, Japan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bandar Seri, Brunei Darussalam; Myanmar; Hochi Minh and Hanoi, Vietnam; Hongkong; Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; Nanning, China; Dubai, UAE; Los Angeles, California, Boston, New Jersey, New York, USA; Toronto, Canada; Seville and Granada, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; Eindhoven and Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Frankfurt, Germany.

As Regional Director of DTI Region 2, she initiated trailblazing projects, programs, and activities such as the Food Development Program which capacitates and prepares Cagayan Valley food MSMEs for the export market, the Walang Sayang Project which is a quick response mechanism to market agriculture commodities during bumper harvests and during calamities and in the process onboarding thousands of Region 2 farmers to online marketing platforms and cashless payments, the Export Development Program which envisions a market positioning for Cagayan Valley as the preferred supplier of institutional intermediary products for local and global processors and manufacturers, and the establishment of Consumer Welfare Assistance Centers aimed at harnessing the Local Government Units to operate their own consumer assistance units in public markets, bringing consumer advocacy closer to the masses.

She instituted the Buy Local Advocacy for government procurement in the region, endorsed by the Regional Development Council through Resolution No. 02-03 on July 22, 2021, which directed government instrumentalities to allocate 10% of their procurement budget for purchasing local MSME products. To date, over 90% of the LGUs in the region have passed their own buy local ordinances, and a significant number of SUCs and regional government offices have issued office policies supporting the buy local advocacy, resulting to a sustained market for the region’s MSMEs.

As Regional Director, she occupies key positions in various regional committees, including as Chairperson of the Regional MSME Development Council, Chairperson of the Technical Working Group for Start-Ups, RDC-Committee on Innovation and Start-ups, Chairperson of the Regional Bamboo Industry Development Council, Co-Chairperson of the RTWPB, Vice Chairperson of the Economic Development Council, Vice Chairperson of the Regional Inclusive Innovation Center, 2nd Alternate Board Member of the Cagayan Export Zone Authority, and Chairperson, of the Technical Working Group, RTF-ELCAC.

She is an awardee of the 2023 IDDU Honor Roles Award conferred by the Philippine Information Agency Region 2 (PIA Region 2) under the “Public Service” Category. She was recognized for her outstanding efforts in serving the community, particularly in advancing the interests of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Cagayan Valley.

She is also a regional awardee of the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC’s) Honor Awards Program (HAP), an annual Search for Outstanding Government Workers which seeks to recognize and award state officials and employees for their outstanding contributions and achievements in the delivery of public service.

Through her leadership, DTI R2 got the highest rating from the Commission on Audit with an unqualified opinion for four consecutive years in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The cost-effective measures she has instituted ensured that public funds were allocated, spent and accounted for judiciously, resulting to the greatest benefit and impact not only on the agency but more so on its clientele.