DTI given 2 weeks to submit plan for streamlining

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been given two weeks to put together a report outlining all the DTI’s programs in an effort to streamline further the agency.

Center for Industrial Competitiveness (CIC) executive director Virgilio P. Fulgencio said that they were given 14 days by Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo to submit a report on how to improve and streamline the agency.

“We need to put together a report outlining all our programs and identify areas where we can improve. We were given two weeks to do it,” Fulgencio said.

According to Fulgencio, the priority of the department is to protect the consumers.

Fulgencio said the report will support the plan of Domingo to streamline the operations of the DTI and to realign the budget of the entire department.

Domingo promised to streamline the operations of the DTI by instituting a zero base budgeting process. He said they will be studying the entire operations in order to determine where there is work redundancy. This will also identify areas that need improvement.

Former Trade Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said the department does not have a pool of competent personnel that can be posted overseas that is why the Philippines is lagging behind in trade negotiations.