PAGASA held its 2/Q GenMeet at the relatively new Fely J’s Kitchen at Uptown Mall of the BGC. Host for the evening is the Agriculture, Food & Life Division of SGS Philippines, Inc.  The GenMeet was held at this newest retail development of the BGC to signify the changing landscape of retail outlets in view of new townships heavily based with BPO Companies and the retail needs of those employed in this industry.

Dusk of 24 April 2017, STC was invited to the office of Community Crafts Association of the Philippines along Araneta Avenue, QC to meet with its Executive Director Voltaire Alferez.  This NGO aims to assist calamity-stricken as well depressed communities to help them stand on their own two feet via handicrafts livelihood projects. On the same day, members of Fair Trade USA visited this office to view the latest products on display for export globally. All their products were exported until Voltaire thought of gaining sales volume for these under-privileged by offering Christmas Baskets for use by supermarkets during the Yuletide Season

On the afternoon of 20 April 2017, STC attended in behalf of PAGASA the project of the HR Committee of the PRA to better air concerns on the issue of Endo for retailers in particular.  The well-attended forum was held at a function room of the Oakwood Joy-Nostalg Bldg. Invited were former DOLE Sec. Marianito D. Roque and Professor Atty. Benedicto Ernesto R. Bitonio, Jr. of the U.P. College of Law and U.P. School of Labor and Industrial Relations. The former dealt with the practical perspective of D.O. 174 which is a Departmental Order and not a new law.  The latter discussed the legal aspect and basis for reviewing the execution of this old law and its relevance to retailers; especially for those with chains located all over the country.

PAGASA’s STC was invited to a Public-Private Market Dialogue with the theme: “Boosting Food Standards in the Philippines” on 20 April 2017 at the Oakwood Joy Nostalg Building at the Ortigas Center.  This Meeting included producers, retailers, associations, companies with certified produce, certification bodies and consumer groups.  This Dialogue-Workshop aims to understand the state of implementation of food standards in the Philippines as well address challenges in the horizon. It is an ASEAN-German Cooperation Project on standards in the Southeast Asian Food Trade (SAFT) wth the Bureau of Agri. and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) under the D.A.  STC gave his inputs into how to promote the sales and consumption of organic fruits and vegetables by appointing a credible certification body (there are now two), making the accreditation process easier to achieve and by making consumers aware of organic goods to eventually form the habit of consuming these regularly and in b...