ILO helps Cotabato in Halal industry

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=920299
• Tuesday, September 6, 2016

(PNA), JMC/NYP

COTABATO CITY, Sept. 6 (PNA) -- The International Labor Organization (ILO), a global non-government organization specializing in providing technical assistance to communities, is helping this city push its prioritized Halal industry.

The ILO provides trainings in the production of Halal products that come from local resources.

Halal is Arabic for permissible as in food and non-food items that adhere to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.

On Monday, the ILO, headed by Enterprise Development Specialist Hideki Kagohashi, met and solicited information from local stakeholders as to how they could help further develop the priority industry in this part of the country.

“This (ILO) organization provides training assistance to existing industries in a bid to strengthen their marketing skills and connect to institutions that can help in their improvement,” City Administrator Danda Juanday, who attended the meeting here, said.

Juanday, in same consultation, has sought the help of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Trade and Industry for the integration of Halal in the priority projects of the government.

Apart from this city, the group is also helping the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) conduct Halal livelihood trainings to its constituents.

Though not part of ARMM, this city is contiguous to Maguindanao, a province-component of the Muslim-dominated territory where ILO is currently implementing its Programme for Local Economic Development through Enhanced Governance and Grassroots Empowerment (PLEDGE) in several communities.