Eastern Visayas’ first One Town One Product (OTOP) Hub has opened at the midst of the pandemic bringing light to local producers of the region as their products will be marketed through the hub. The launching was held last August 19, 2020 and was attended by officials from DTI Region 8, DTI Leyte, CAAP and the BAHANDI Producers Assoc. Eastern Visayas Cooperative.  

Located at the DZR Airport, the OTOP Hub provides the physical and online channels and market access platform where OTOP products – especially those which have been assisted via product development – are showcased on a day-to-day basis.  

The establishment of the said hub is the demand part of the One Town One Product Next Generation Program (OTOP Next Gen) where quality local products are available for institutional buyers and consuming public.  

Though the tourism industry is experiencing a fallback with all others, economists and industry players are expectant that there is a boom for tourism after this crisis thus positioning the local producers under the tourism support sector is right in time.  

According to DTI 8 Regional Director Celerina Bato, the demand for local products of Eastern Visayas in other parts of the country such as Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces have increased despite the pandemic.  

The Bahandi Producers’ Eastern Visayas Cooperative is taking charge of managing the hub with its President Carlo Romano who is working to showcase more products across the region.  ♦

Date of Release: 25 August 2020