WEAVING CENTER. A loom weaver of the Bagtason Loomweavers Association (BLWA) in Bugasong town, Antique province weaves a piece of patadyong cloth on April 23, 2023. BLWA chairperson Mario Manzano said in an interview Monday (July 3, 2023) that a weaving center will be constructed in the Municipality of San Remigio this July. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – A weaving center will be constructed in the Municipality of San Remigio to help revitalize the handloom weaving industry in Antique province and make it the weaving hub of Western Visayas region.
Mario Manzano, chairperson of the Bagtason Loomweavers Association (BLWA) in the municipality of Bugasong and who served as a trainer for loom weavers in San Remigio, said the two-story weaving center worth PHP2 million will be established in the town’s Barangay Iguirindon.
“Senate Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda envisions to be able to establish weaving centers in all of Antique’s towns,” he said in an interview on Monday.
The first center was established in the municipality of Tibiao in 2018 and Bugasong and Pandan towns in 2019.
Manzano said the establishment of the center is assisted by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) which had already made an ocular inspection of the 120 square meters area donated by the barangay.
“The center will be for the Iguirindon Loomweavers Association (ILA) whose members had already started loom weaving training last year,” Manzano said.
He said that 30 members of the ILA underwent training on weaving and using natural dye; 10 of them just completed the training on July 2, 2023.
“The BLWA could no longer cope with the orders that we also need to train more weavers,” Manzano said.
He said the BLWA, which is into the weaving of patadyong (tube-like wrap-around skirt) using cotton and polyester fabric, could only produce 200 meters per month aside from the shawls and scarfs.
“We have no problem with the market,” Manzano said.
He said they have varied local markets because they frequently join trade fairs organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The BLWA and the PTRI mounted an exhibit at the Senate Building last Feb. 2023.
“Senate Pro-Tempore Legarda and Senator Robin Padilla wear their patadyong-made modern Filipino attires also during special occasions at the senate,” Manzano said.
There are also residents who bring the fabric, which is being sold for around PHP700 per meter, as gifts to their relatives abroad.
The patadyong is sewn into barong, pants, and other garments.
“Even with the BLWA’s 34 personnel already, we could hardly meet the orders that we receive each month,” Manzano said. (PNA)
