Airline
passengers from Tacloban going to Manila no longer need to look very
far for unique quality products to bring as “pasalubong”
(present) to relatives and friends in their respective destinations.
Through the Bahandi “Pasalubong” Center now operating at
the Tacloban City Airport, native delicacies and indigenous crafts of
Region VIII are within easy reach.
This is something the
public has been waiting for. Just a door away from the
passengers’ boarding area at the Tacloban Airport Terminal, it is
very convenient for both departing and arriving passengers and even for
arriving tourists. In the past, one needed to go from place to place to
get these products. The Bahandi Pasalubong Center solves this problem
because it serves as a one-stop-shop for “the best”
products of Eastern Visayas as its name “Bahandi” connotes.
Conceptualized in 2003, the Pasalubong Center had its soft
opening on December 27, 2005 and was formally launched on January 26,
2006. The Bahandi Producers Association of Eastern Visayas (BPAEV)
maintains the Center with assistance from the Department of Trade and
Industry Region VIII. The Center came into being with the support of
Leyte First District Congresswoman Remedios L. Petilla and the German
Embassy Manila through its project “Small-Medium Enterprise
Development for Sustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP)”.
This
Center had actually been suggested by NEDA Director General Romulo L.
Neri when he visited Tacloban City in September 2003. During his visits
to selected SME producers, he suggested this as a priority activity
under the Tacloban Airport Redevelopment Project, which was about to
take off at that time.
NEDA VIII Regional Director Buenaventura
C. Go-Soco, Jr, during his visit to the Center, observed a tremendous
improvement in the packaging of local products (see sample label) and
predicts that the Center will be a boon to tourism and small
entrepreneurs.
At present, some 26 producers from
various provinces are actively selling their respective specialty
products in the Center. These products are placed at the Center on
consignment basis and producers are paid every 5th and 20th day of the
month.
According to BPAEV staff handling the Center, food
delicacies and products made out of “tikog” grass are the
products with the fastest turnover. Other products one may find at the
Center are Calbayog’s (Samar) fish tinapaan, Guiuan’s (E.
Samar) shell accessories, Baybay’s (Leyte) pandan bags,
Gandara’s (Samar) queseo, Hernani’s (E. Samar) coco-coir
products and many more.
 Shown above are some of the products sold at the Bahandi Pasalubong Center like mussel crackers, pandan bags, tikog mates, binagol and moron. |
Related links:
DTI Post Activity Report
PIA press release
Manila Times news