Las Pinas City

From its days as the salt center of Manila to its bright present as a rapidly urbanizing residential-
commercial center, Las Pias has indeed come a long way.

Known nationwide for its bamboo organ, salt beds, and jeepney factories, Las Pias is distinguished as
one of Metro Manilas fastest-growing communities. Continued economic growth, coupled with
effective local governance, have earned Las Pias the distinction of being Metro Manilas cleanest and
most peaceful city for three years straight.

Salt Industry

salt-making technology was introduced in the locality using solar bed dryers. Over time, hundreds of
hectares surrounding the old town were converted into salt beds. Later, clay tiles or gibak were
brought down from Vigan to line the salt beds. This prevented the salt from coming into contact with
the earthen ground. This allowed the salt produced to become white as snow and established the
reputation of Las Pias as a salt-making center as well into the 20th
century.[1] Representative Cynthia Aguilar Villar sought the assistance of the Department of
Agriculture in rebuilding the salt farms. However, the proposal was turned down due to incapability of
the agency to provide technology needed for the job. She also had acquaintances from salt-making
experts in a forum held at Pangasinan State University. This paved the way for building linkages
between former Senator Manuel Villar and Representative Cynthia Villar of Las Pias City and the
administration of Pangasinan State University - eventually launching the Solar Salt Demo-Project.[2]
On the other hand, the construction of Las Pias Fish Port was immediately assisted by the former
Department of Agriculture Secretary Leony Montemayor - who happens to be a colleague of her
husband, Manuel Villar. The fish port was constructed at Bernabe Compound in Barangay
Pulanglupa 1. At present, some Las Pieros, who are fishermen and clam and mussels harvesters,
from Barangays E. Aldana, Pulang-lupa 1 and Daniel Fajardo still uses the facility.

Sarao Jeepney

Sarao Motors, Inc. is a Filipino automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Brgy. Pulang Lupa
in the city of Las Pias in Metro Manila, Philippines. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and
distributes the jeepney, the most popular form of transportation in the country, labeled as the 'king of
the road' in the Philippines.[2][3]

The company was first established as a small automotive shop in 1953 by starting entrepreneur
Leonardo Sarao, a mechanic and a former calesa driver. From an initial budget of 700, the company
grew into a multimillion corporation. At its peak, the ratio of Sarao jeepneys rolling the streets of Manila
outnumbered other names by nearly 7 to 1, the name Sarao became synonymous with the vehicle.[2]

Sarao promoted the jeepney as a symbol of Philippine culture. A Sarao was exhibited at the Philippine
pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair as a national image for the Filipinos.[2][4] In 1971, a Sarao
jeepney traveled from Manila to London and all over Europe as the Phlippine icon of the London-Manila
Express, a roadshow sponsored by the Philippine Tourism and Travel Association to boost the country's
tourism and industry to European countries.[5][6][7]
Sarao is also a manufacturer of owner-type, custom-built jeepneys and other type of vehicles for
schools, businesses and other institutions. Pope John Paul II rode on a specially built owner-type jeepney
by Sarao during his first travel to the country in 1981.[8]

On October 2, 2000 Sarao Motors was forced to halt jeepney production due to rising costs.[9] Sarao
Motors' employees were downsized from 300 to only 50. The collection department was the only part of
the company that remained operational.[10] Sarao Motors eventually resumed its operation albeit in a
lesser scale.[11][12]

The Water Hyacinth Weaving Enterprise

The Water Hyacinth Weaving Enterprise, which provides livelihood to over 200 families, was set up by Villar
SIPAG and is given a boost during the day-long Water Lily Festival in July. The water hyacinths bear lily-like
flowers, which has moved locals to call it water lily.

To clear the Las Pias River of this aquatic pest, residents harvest them and dry the stalks, which become the raw
material for producing baskets, trays, slippers, and other functional and ornamental items. The Festival features
demonstrations on basket weaving, variety shows participated in by home-grown talents, trade fair featuring
products made from water hyacinths as well as other products from the various barangay livelihood projects.

the Handloom Blanket Weaving Enterprise

Villar SIPAG provided free training for forty women. In three months time, seventy-five percent of the trainees
dropped out . After another three months of training, each of them could finish as much as three blankets a day. The
Las Pias Handloom Weaving Center was now ready to supply the office of Senator Villar with blankets priced
competitively with the China-made mats.

Producing three blankets a day meant that each weaver could earn up to Php4,300.00 (US$98.00)2 a month. The ten
women weavers became models for the others in their barangay.

News spread fast and soon women from other barangays requested to be given the opportunity to learn and earn
from the craft.
There are currently seventeen looms distributed in five barangays, with a production output of 800 blankets a month
or a total of 10,000 blankets a year.

These blankets are sent by the Villar SIPAG to victims of disasters in the various parts of the Philippines.

The Coconut Coir and Peat Enterprise

The coconut husks intercepted by the river strainers were significant in number. The question was how
to turn this garbage into an economic resource.
From the husk of the coconut, the fiber can be extracted. It has been used in the past as a rope or as a
twine. However, making the rope required great difficulty in labor.

Through the Villar SIPAG, the Las Pias Coco Coir enterprise got its first seed money to purchase all the
equipment required to produce the coco nets. Through the assistance of Dr. Arboleda, the transfer of
technology to the Las Pieros became a reality.

The coco net is produced by the team work of two persons in the twining equipment and two persons in
the loom.

From their backyard, each family with two people producing a net can earn Php6,000.00 (US$136.35)
from their average monthly production.

These coco nets from Las Pias are currently sold to Vista Land, a publicly listed housing development
company, for their slope protection and soil erosion control requirements.

Since 2008, the Villar SIPAG has distributed fifty six (56) twining equipment and thirty four (34) weaving
looms to sixty eight families. The coco coir enterprise has been able to afford to purchase all the
additional twining equipment and hand loom, and even partially pay for 40% of the cost of an additional
decorticating machine. The balance of 60% was provided by the Foundation as financial assistance.

Part of the income generated from the sales of the coco nets is used to pay for the blankets made by
another group of women and youth engaged in the Las Pias Handloom Weaving Centers. These
blankets are, in turn, given to people who are rendered homeless by typhoon, fire, and other calamities.

From a wider perspective, the addition of the coco-coir cottage industry provides more livelihood
opportunities to idle female labor, utilizes the erstwhile floating coconut shell garbage on the river,
reduces overall cost of garbage collection, contributes to the fertility of the soil required by the
bamboos planted at the eyelet spaces of the produced coco-net used for erosion control.