CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) -- A total of nine micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) bagged honors in the 2021 Regional Productivity Olympics. 
 
Awardees from the service sector include Ala Carte Restaurant and Food-to-Go of Bataan; Boba Time Food Corner of Zambales; Toyota Plaridel of Bulacan; Bleue R Enterprises of Aurora; Sto. Niño De Parada Multi-purpose Cooperative of Bulacan; and Don Bosco Technical Institute of Tarlac.
 
Meanwhile, winning MSMEs under the business sector were Min’s Miraculous Mushroom of Bulacan; Green Thumb Agri Products of Zambales; and GainPro Phils. Inc. of Zambales. 
 
Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Chairperson and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director Geraldine Panlilio lauded all the participants who will represent Central Luzon in the National Productivity Olympics this October.
 
“We hope that most, if not all, of our awardees would qualify for, and win the national awards which seek to recognize and benchmark MSMEs that have demonstrated resilience, preserved employment and implemented excellent employee engagement programs amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Panlilio said. 
 
For his part, RTWPB Central Luzon Secretariat Head Jerome Yanson explained that this year’s regional competition —with the theme “Bounce Back Better”—showcases the resiliency and productivity of MSMEs in the region amid the pandemic. 
 
“We looked into their business continuity plans and strategies, employee engagement programs including compliance with health and safety protocols, employment preservation in terms of hiring and termination of employment, and more as criteria for judging,” Yanson said. 
 
Regional and national winners all received cash awards and priority endorsement to the Department of Trade and Industry and DOLE’s training programs.
 
Productivity Olympics is a biennial competition of best productivity improvement practices of MSMEs organized by the National Wages and Productivity Commission and RTWPB across the country. (CLJD/TJBM-PIA 3)