The Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A, in partnership with the DTI-Supply Chain and Logistics Management Division (SCLMD), held a two-day Logistics Consultation in the South Luzon Logistics Cluster and a site visit to Batangas Port on September 20-21, 2022 at the Batangas State University Main Campus, Batangas City, Batangas and via online platform to update the Ten Commitments of the Philippine Logistics Services Sector with a focus on technology upgrade and digital transformation of the logistics sector, reduction in logistics costs, investments in logistics infrastructure, provision of an efficient Agri-Supply chain to ensure food security, and skills upgrade and logistics workforce development. This is in response to the deficiencies in the hard and soft infrastructure that cater to the logistics and supply chain-related activities in the Philippines and the specific lapses of each logistical component that serves the food value, causing supply deficits and/or rapid price increases of basic necessities, as found out by the DTI in their study conducted in 2022.
The event was attended by more than a hundred face-to-face and online participants from the CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and Bicol Region under the logistics and supply chain industry, Agri-based micro, small, and medium enterprises, big conglomerates, traders, freight operators, forwarders, shipping companies, members of the chapters of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Asian Terminals Incorporated, officers of the national government agencies from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Department of Transportation (DOTR), Department of Agriculture (DA), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Board of Investments (BOI), and officials from the DTI such as Assistant Secretary Mary Jean T. Pacheco, MIMAROPA Regional Director Joel B. Valera, and Bicol Regional Director Rodrigo M. Aguilar. The roadshow was conducted in the five supra-regional logistics clusters such as Southern Luzon, Northern Luzon, Visayas, Western Mindanao, and Eastern Mindanao.
The two-day activity aims to prepare for the development of an action plan on supply chain and logistics management to present the overview of the transport and storage sector from a macro and regional perspective, provide information on supply chain and management, determine the priority commodity per region and identify the producers, distributors, retailers, and their location, identify possible investment opportunities in the logistics industry in the region, present the National Logistics Strategy, determine the logistics issues that may hamper the movement of goods, and identify infrastructure projects per region that need to be prioritized by the government.
“We are very happy that this two-day activity took place in our region as this will not just strengthen the efforts in the supply chain and logistics sector but also ensure food security. In improving our supply chain management in the Southern Luzon, many investment and employment opportunities will surely open. We hope that the action plan that will be developed in this consultation will come to fruition,” said DTI 4-A OIC-Regional Director Marissa C. Argente. ♦
Date of Release: 22 September 2022