In his first official visit to the Bay Area, newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., center, was welcomed by, from left, Contra Costa County Board of Education Trustee Cynthia Ruehlig and Antioch Unified School District Trustee Walter Ruehlig at a reception at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco.

Ambassador Cuisia is soliciting support for Save Our Industries Act, which will provide duty-free benefits for apparel products imported into the United States that have been manufactured in the Philippines using U.S.-made fabrics.

Ambassador Cuisia asserted that the program would help the U.S. textile industry and the Philippine apparel manufacturing industry by creating thousands of jobs and generating more than a billion dollars in revenue. For more information, visit www.saveourindustriesact.org.