The launch of the Bohol Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) Shared Service Facility will be a big boost to the province's recovery efforts, following last year's devastating earthquake, a government official said Friday. “I guess it's the resiliency, at saka iyong sipag, iyong tiyaga ng mga Boholano to really help themselves in rebuilding what was damaged by the earthquake,” Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya told reporters in an interview in Tagbilaran on Friday. “Madali silang nakabangon at hindi sila nawalan ng pag-asa. It's really the drive and the culture of the Boholanos,” she said. Most of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are operating normally today, several months after the quake, Maglaya said, adding that 95 percent of these enterprises are already back in operation.

The FabLab is a new thing that also involves new technology in Bohol, the trade official noted. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is working with partners like the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bohol Island State University (BISU) to achieve the objectives of the FabLab. The DTI is opening the door to the DOST, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd), considering the huge potential of FabLab in Bohol, Maglaya said. President Benigno S. Aquino III attended the launch of the FabLab in Bohol on Friday as well as the first FabLab Asian Network (FAN1) Boot Camp and Conference. The Bohol FabLab is a technical prototyping platform for innovation and invention, providing stimulus for local entrepreneurship. It is also a platform for learning and innovation. FabLab has tie-ups with global educators, technologists, researchers and innovators from about 50 countries. The laboratory, the first of its kind in the country, aims to help Boholanos to be competitive, especially in the creative industry sector, by providing tools and equipment for prototyping and modeling. (PCOO/PND/as)