The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)– Isabela Provincial Office teams up with the Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) in Santiago City to produce personal protection equipment (PPE) like face shields and aerosol boxes for medical frontliners in region 2 in the fight against the corona virus disease (Covid-19).
As of April 2, 2020, about 246 face shields and 21 aerosol boxes were already produced. Mr. Winston Tan T. Singun, Provincial Director of DTI Isabela, handed the PPE to Southern Isabela Medical Center in Santiago City, Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City,and Governor Faustino N. Dy Hospital in City of Ilagan, Isabela.
The FabLab Santiago City is the only fabrication laboratory established in region 2 and has the capacity to fabricate face shields and aerosol acrylic boxes.
The FabLab has now developed 27 prototypes consisting mainly of wooden handicraft and other novelty items. Among the products made are wooden portraits, name plates, trophies, plaques, ref magnets and bag tags. It is currently assisting 136 MSMEs composed of food processors and handicraft makers from Santiago City and other parts of Isabela province, region 2 and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The FabLab is operated by LGU Santiago City. The FabLab was established on June 2016 through a grant of P9.4M from the Department of Trade and Industry.
The FabLab is operated by LGU Santiago City. The FabLab was established on June 2016 through a grant of P9.4M from the Department of Trade and Industry.
On the part of the cooperator LGU, the facility provides product development services to local MSMEs through the BESPREN Barangay Entrepreneurial Services for Poverty Reduction and Eradication Network) Program of the city government.
A FabLab is a technical prototyping platform for innovation and invention that allows local manufacturers to make prototypes and products such as equipment, machinery and electronic gadgets; create scale models, illustrate graphic designs and mass-produce products, among others.
Located at the Integrated Terminal Complex near the Negosyo Center, FabLab Santiago City assists MSMEs and individuals to come up with product innovation through design consultation, digital fabrication and rapid prototyping services.
Meanwhile, DTI-Isabela Provincial Office, through Provincial Director Winston Tan Singun launched a fundraising initiative on March 25, 2020 via the official social media platforms of the office and the Negosyo Centers in the different municipalities of the province to generate funds for this noble project. This is another wave of the I-CARE (Isabela Community Assistance and Relief) Project of DTI Isabela that was launched last year as part of the organizational culture of the office.
Hon Rodolfo T. Albano III, Provincial Governor, and Hon. Faustino G. Dy III, Vice Governor pledged their one-month salary while District Representatives and Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP) Officials also donated certain amounts to support the program, generating a total of P428,929.26 as of March 30, 2020.
With the outpouring support to the Program by different stakeholders, DTI expanded the program and planned to produce additional type of PPE like protective suits and masks. ♦
Date of Release: 13 April 2020