By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
With the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the entirety of Luzon, and the country remains under a state of National Health Emergency, this led to the Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera Administrative Region and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to come up with the Rolling Store, the Cordillera way.
This move would bring the basic necessities and essential products closer and accessible to the far-flung barangays and spare the people the burden of having to travel to the central business district for their needs.
Happened through a public-private partnership of Baguio City local government, DTI, Department of Agriculture, and partner retailers/big groceries in the city.
Running on its 37th roll-out last April 25, 2020, the Cordillera Rolling Store started on March 24, 2020, it has already generated a total sales of P24M and has benefited a total of 22,000 households in 215 barangays. DTI still has 19 Rolling Stores to be implemented until the first week of May 2020 for a total of fifty-six (56) roll-outs.
The concept and strategic implementation of the Rolling Store project was presented during a video conference meeting with Mayor Magalong and DTI-CAR and the other ten top grocery owners in Baguio who have the capacity to deliver volumes of the basic and prime commodities in far-reaching barangays of Baguio City and Benguet, respectively.
These retailer-partners with DA’s Kadiwa on Wheels and the City Market Vendors Association likewise cooperated fully. The retailer-partners sustained stock level requirements and provided logistics for free in the delivery and sale of goods where the barangays are. The project brought together the converging partners from the government and the private sectors to collaborate and to work together for the barangay folks who have less access to their basic needs because of the ECQ guidelines and where lockdown of the municipalities has become the order of the day. Post rolling stores assessment by DTI and the LGUs concerned are likewise conducted with the objective of improving succeeding runs.
\Store reduced the influx of people in the city markets to buy their basic necessities from canned goods, coffee, salt, noodles to rice, meat, poultry and marine products to fruits and vegetables. By bringing said goods nearest to them in clustered barangays, the ECQ guidelines are well complied with where social distancing has become a norm to everyone. Indeed, the Rolling Store project of CAR is BRINGING GOODS CLOSER, KEEPING YOU SAFER AS A CONSUMER.
The project is just one of the initiatives of DTI-Regional Operations Group spearheaded by Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona in response to COVID-19 crisis.
