Ilocos Sur Factories 2000: An Alternative Future Socio-Economic Profile

Abstract

Factories for Village Recovery Program or simply called FACTORIES 2000, is envisioned by Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson as a venue where the energies ofthe llocanos can be directed towards attaining the status of a newly industrialized province contributing towards the achievement ofPHILIPPINES 2000. This aspiration is strongly supported by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of 1locos Sur, as reflected in the legislative measures passed by the body. This goal has been attained by most ASEAN and Pacific Rim neighbors to which potential seaports in locos Sur are most proximate. The title itself suggests that the nerve center of1locos Sur socioeconomic activities revolves around a village factory, where workers and staff in particular and the residents in general are directly involved in community-organizing, resource mobilization, production, processing and marketing. This developmentmodel isculturallyrootedin the industrious Ilocano as reflected by the prominence of small rural-family based enterprises prevalent in 1locos Sur, such as the tobacco flue- curing barns. The strategy for implementing the program rest on an integrated approach with an: awareness for social responsibility through environment-friendly economic enterprises anchored on ecologically- balanced development zones.