WHILE it’s cool right now to sport local textiles, it’s becoming a little bit too cool — by that we mean fakes are being made of handwoven textiles by indigenous people.
During a press conference on Jan. 27 as part of the 2026 National Textile Convention (TELACon), Julius Leaño, Jr., director of DoST-PTRI (Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Textile Research Institute), discussed the Weavers’ Manifesto.
TELACon was organized by the DoST-PTRI at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City, and ran from Jan. 27 to 29.
The manifesto was released in December last year during the Philippine Handloom Weaving Festival in Ilocos Norte. One of the points raised in the manifesto was the “opposition to the widespread use of counterfeit handwoven textiles and machine-made woven replicas as substitutes for the authentic handwoven fabrics of the Philippines.”
During the press conference, Mr. Leaño made clear that the PTRI’s job was to put together these sentiments, although the sentiments come from the weavers themselves, collected through a focus group discussion.
“Ang number one na layunin noon ay talaga para ma-ipahayag na tumututol sila doon sa paggamit ng replica at iyong mga counterfeit (Its number one goal is to announce that they are against the use of replicas and counterfeits),” he said during the press conference.
According to him, the fakes come from China. They are of foreign make, and are machine-made, while claiming to be handwoven by indigenous people. He said that the fakes began to proliferate during the pandemic, beginning with prints claiming to be of Cordillera origin.
Maria Raquel Bullayao, a weaver from Lubuagan, Kalinga said, “Parang nadudurog ang mga puso namin (it’s like our hearts are being crushed),” she said about seeing fakes passed off as their work. “It is our labor of love… ilang araw mo siya gagawin (you would have been working on it for days). Tapos makikita po namin dito (Then we’ll see it here), mostly here also in NCR na may mga nagbebenta ng peke na Filipiniana na nabibili po sa Divisoria (that they’re selling fake Filipiniana that you can buy in Divisoria).”
Meanwhile, Mervin To-Ong, a weaver from the Binugao Bagobo-Tagabawa Women Association from Davao said, “Buhay namin ito eh (this is our life).”
“Nakakahiya sa atin na gumamit tayo ng mga replica at mga pekeng hinabi (it is shameful for us to use replica and fake woven products),” he said.
Mr. Leaño said that as of now, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines isn’t sufficient to protect the intellectual property rights of the weavers. They are currently working with several agencies to fix the problem, as well as relying on a bill by Senator Loren Legarda regarding cultural protection, which has yet to be passed into law.
Legally speaking, there are no prohibitions against these machine-made textiles: “Okay lang naman kung binenta yan na sinasabi na (it’s okay to sell it if it says) ‘this is machine-woven.’ Wala namang problema doon (there’s no problem there). Pero huwag mo lang sabihin na ito ay (but just don’t say that it is) Kalinga weave, when in fact, it is not,” said Mr. Leaño.
As for DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr., he said, “It is also important to do a lot of educational awareness for the buyer. Bilang buyer, hindi mo naman malalaman kung totoo o hindi (as a buyer, you wouldn’t know what’s real or not).”
For now, PTRI measures to combat fake textiles include education campaigns, but also the development of a covert marking. In normal light, textiles using the marking will appear the same color, but the mark will glow under blue light. They are also rolling out handwoven marks to be distributed only to their partner weavers. “There are ways,” said Mr. Leaño. “We just have to put them together.”
The onus is still on the buyer to buy the real thing. And where can we go to guarantee that what we’re getting is a true-blue handwoven product?
“Ideally, go directly to the communities,” he said.
And one can also visit the regularly scheduled Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) fairs which bring the makers and their products to Metro Manila. Not only will you be assured that what you buy is the real McCoy, but by talking to the weavers and getting a close up look at authentic weaves you learn to identify in the future if what you are offered comes from real hand weavers or should come with a warning: Made in China. — Joseph L. Garcia