The emphasis will be on the establishment of wood processing plants to ensure the province becomes a distributor of finished products rather than a supplier of logs.
Thousands of people lost their jobs when mini sawmills were stopped from operating in the region. But now Edilberto Bernal, former president of the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says there is a need to allow small wood processing plants to operate – with strict constraints to prevent illegal cutting and processing of logs from protected forests.
The province’s economy would receive a welcome boost if a wood processing industry was allowed to operate under close supervision according to the Development Bank of the Philippines.
And the Department of Trade and Industry said it is already receiving enquiries from investors in Taiwan, Singagapore and Japan interested in setting up wood processing plants in the area.
