(Top) Sen. Loren Legarda proudly beams as she tries on a cotton vest dyed with natural indigo - a gift from the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) which developed the dye - during the recent launching of PTRI’s Innovation Center for Yarns and Textiles in Taguig City. The P54M facility is expected to revitalize the local textile industry by producing yarns of piña, banana, and other indigenous fabrics and make these more accessible to local handloom weavers and commercial millers, as well as include the fabrics in local clothing brands’ product lines. Photo below shows Legarda while being shown one of the equipment inside the Innovation Center during a tour around the facility. Legarda is the author of the Tropical Fabrics Law which aims to promote Philippine tropical fabrics. (Photos by Henry A. de Leon, S&T Media Service, DOST-STII)