Party-list representative buys 'fake piña barong'

A party-list representative mistakenly bought a silk Barong Tagalog for the price of a piña barong, according to a report on GMA News’ “24 Oras." Pure piña barong can go for as much as P4,500 in Divisoria while silk barongs can be bought for as low as P350.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV AGHAM party-list Representative Angelo Palmones said Monday on GMA News’ “24 Oras" newscast that he had bought the barong for P3,000 in a well-known mall in General Santos City. But when he wore the piña barong to a science and technology event in the city, the director of the Philippine Textile Research Institute himself told Palmones that the barong he was wearing was, in fact, made of silk. Silk barongs should cost significantly less than their piña counterparts. Piña fiber is handmade from pineapple leaves. The low recovery rate of piña fiber is one of the reasons why pure piña barongs are more expensive than other varieties. Palmones said that shops passing off silk barongs as Piña were threatening the industry. “Yung piña barong kasi product ng Pilipinas, isa ito sa mga pinagmamalaki natin and meron tayong global export na pinoproteksyonan," Palmones said. The AGHAM representative said that he asked the Department of Trade and Industry to look into the matter. — BC/VS, GMA News