A PROVINCE-OWNED worm hatchery for silk production will boost the silk industry of Northern Mindanao, said Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano.
Emano said the silk industry in the Laguindingan will create a sustainable livelihood program once it is fully developed and it would make the province known not only in the Philippines but even outside the country.
Emano will be out of the province this week to venture and conduct silk study mission in a neighboring Asian country. He said this will boost the silk weaving business of a cooperative in Laguindingan town.
Emano said the Ayala Beneficiaries Association Incorporated (ABAI) Weavers Multipurpose Cooperative in Barangay Kibaghot, Laguindingan, is the only community in the region that manufacture silk.
The silk used in the barong that was worn by President Rodrigo Duterte during his first State of the Nation Address was made by the group.
Emano said the silk industry in the town has an edge and market for the next years to come.
The governor will include two more capitol employees in the out-of -town trip for documentation.
"Personal trip atong lakaw pero dunay tun-an bahin sa silk worm production kay nakita nato nga dunay edge ang atong ABAI weavers kay ang silk nga ilang gigama gigamit sa barong nga gisuot sa presidente sa iyang SONA," Emano said.
Emano said one of the challenges of the cooperative in silk production is the lack of resources. One facility that the cooperative does not have is the filature machine that makes the production of wool easier and faster.
"Ang problema karon kay gapaliton ang silk sa Bacolod kung dili na sila baligyaan sa Bacolod they have nothing to weave so mag stop sila," Emano said.
"Atong gusto duna tay own hatchery nga magbuhat sa cocoon kay naa man sa Villanueva ang Philippine Textile Research Institute buot pasabot wala na tay problema sa ulod, ang problema na lang ang filature machine," Emano added.
Emano said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has expressed its support in the purchase of the machine.
"Gikan sa cocoon isulod sa machine nga maoy mag twine para magbuhat sa tanod nga mao sad gamiton nila pag-weave," Emano said.
"If we get the machine wala na tay putol sa production," Emano added.
Emano said the Provincial Government has extended an initial of P50,000 as financial aid to the ABAI weavers for additional capital and vowed to assist the group in the infrastructure projects in the future.
The ABAI weavers are residents of the area who were relocated due to the construction of the Laguindingan airport. Their produce was initially showcased in 2004 in collaboration with prominent fashion designers.
