Philippine handicraft exporters are asking for the permanent deregulation of basic chemicals used in the manufacture of their products, saying continued government control of these substances is slowly killing the industry.
Floro Salinas, proprietor of FNDG Shells and Handicrafts based in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, recently appealed to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to lift regulatory control over chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, which are widely used as cleansing agents in the sector.
The PNP last year added 41 chemicals to its master list of regulated substances in compliance with Presidential Decree No. 1866 as amended by Republic Act No. 9516 and as part of security efforts against terroristic acts.
The new policy intends to regulate the possession, manufacture, trade, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunitions, or explosives, and the instruments used to create these weapons. However, since the added chemicals are also commonly used in manufacturing, enterprises have said they are encountering difficulties securing the needed permits.
Last December, the PNP announced the temporary suspension of the regulation of commonly used chemicals until February 9, 2016, extending the same to April or until the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) are finalized.
At the same time, it formed three technical working groups (TWG), where the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) is a member, to raise concerns of affected micro, small and medium enterprises. Inputs from the TWGs are supposed to be part of the IRR that would be enforced in May this year.
In a recent letter to the chief of the PNP, coursed through Philexport, Salinas called for the permanent deregulation of chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide.
He explained that the handicraft export industry’s survival depends on numerous micro enterprises that contribute labor and materials to complete an export product.
These micro entrepreneurs only need “a very small amount of cleansing chemicals to clean and bleach the handicraft materials or items, like wood, sea shells, abaca fibers and many others.”
Salinas, in demonstrating the difficulties imposed by the regulation, cited the case of a US$10-million order for Philippine seashell products from the U.S. that he said was cancelled when micro entrepreneurs could not deliver to the exporter the specific items.
“Result is cancellation and a big loss to the buyers, the exporters and the micro-entrepreneurs, (and) not only money but good business relationship was damaged. Some additional damage (was) made by those exporters who delivered a sub-standard quality of goods when the foreign buyers detected and rejected the sub-standard items,” said Salinas.
Being part-time and home-based businesses that employ only family members, these micro enterprises have neither the time nor the resources to get the required permits or make the regular reporting to PNP, he further said.
These micro entrepreneurs must have “easy access to these chemicals like before” when they could just buy the muriatic acid or hydrochloric acid in grocery stores and hardware stores, or “at least give them an easier access to these chemicals,” he said.
Otherwise, the handicraft export industry “will surely die when these chemicals are regulated.”
In related developments, Dan Lachica, president of the Semiconductor & Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI), said the draft IRR for the law was circulated on February 7 for comments by concerned industries.
Lachica noted in a recent letter to the departments of local government and trade and industry that February is almost over but “we have not yet finalized the solutions to this matter.”
“It is in our earnest prayer that PNP and the private sector will finally reach an agreement on the chemical regulations on March 07, 2016, which is the scheduled date of the next TWG meeting,” he added. – Philexport News and Features
Image courtesy of jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
