Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _____ 
Introduced by Representative SOLOMON R. CHUNGALAO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This house measure was originally filed in the 18th Congress as House Bill 
No. 4487 on September 10, 2019 and went through the house committee hearing. 
This bill seeks to create and establish the Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission. 
The Ifugao Rice Terraces have been dubbed as the “Eighth Wonder of the 
World” and inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1995 by the United Nations 
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Long before its 
inscription in the World Heritage List, the rice terraces of the Philippine 
Cordilleras, specifically the Ifugao Rice Terraces, were given due recognition in 
1973 by the Philippine Government as a national landmark for its high world 
cultural value and as an irreplaceable treasure of the country. 
Built 2000 years ago, the Ifugao Rice Terraces have been regarded as a 
“landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and 
the environment” which resulted from the fruit of knowledge handed down from 
one generation to the next and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate 
social balance. 
The Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission (IRTC) was created in 1994 by virtue 
of Executive Order No. 158 to act as an advisory body to the President on matters 
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affecting the Ifugao Rice Terraces. This was replaced in 1999 with Banaue Rice 
Terraces Task Force (BRTTF) through Executive Order No. 77 which was 
mandated to restore, preserve and develop the Ifugao Rice Terraces as well as to 
prepare a development plan for the same. In 2002, BRTTF’s responsibilities, 
functions and assets were transferred to the Provincial Government of Ifugao. This 
resulted in the creation of the Ifugao Rice Terraces Cultural and Heritage Office 
(IRTCHO) under the Office of the Provincial Governor, which was later replaced 
by the Ifugao Cultural Heritage Office (ICHO). 
During the late 1990’s, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) 
sent a crop specialist to Banaue who discovered that the worms were damaging 
the roots produced by germinated rice seeds aside from eroding the terraces by 
burrowing in their walls. The rats, meanwhile, were eating the rice flower heads 
and contributing to the terraces’ erosion with their burrowing and if left 
unchecked, the rats could destroy about 75 percent of rice crops. According to the 
same PhilRice report, severe drought and massive deforestation of the highlands 
have also contributed to the terraces’ collapse.  
In 1999, the rice terraces were included in the list of 100 most endangered 
sites of the World Monument Watch. In 2001, the World Heritage Committee of 
UNESCO decided to inscribe the Ifugao Rice Terraces on the List of World 
Heritage in Danger, asserting that “in the absence of a systematic monitoring 
programme or a comprehensive management plan, it is, at present, impossible to 
guarantee the preservation and sustainable development of these rice terraces. 
During the 2001 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World 
Cultural and Natural Heritage, a UNESCO report revealed that many farmers 
have left, abandoning 25-30 percent of the terraces, and letting their indigenous 
irrigation system fall into ruin. This abandonment, together with rat and worm 
pests, threatened to destroy the terraces. The same UNESCO report maintained 
that despite good planning, irregular development is taking place, threatening to 
erode the heritage landscape. It further claimed that international assistance has 
not been mobilized to help the area so far. The International Union for the 
Conversation of Nature advised that if ongoing destruction of the terraces is not 
arrested, widespread damage may be irreversible. 


There is an urgent need to look into the progress of various efforts and 
initiatives to save the Ifugao Rice Terraces from total degradation. Therefore, 
there is a necessity to address growing concerns over the many issues surrounding 
the rapid deterioration of the rice terraces, in order to determine whether remedial 
measures must be introduced to ensure that the Ifugao Rice Terraces are 
sustainably protected. Hence, this bill is proposed to address all these challenges.     
In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is earnestly sought.      
 
 
 
ATTY. SOLOMON R. CHUNGALAO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _____ 
Introduced by Representative SOLOMON R. CHUNGALAO 
AN ACT 
CREATING 
AND 
ESTABLISHING 
AN 
IFUGAO 
RICE 
TERRACES 
COMMISSION 
FOR 
THE 
RESTORATION, 
PRESERVATION 
AND 
MAINTENANCE OF THE IFUGAO RICE TERRACES, THE ONLY LIVING 
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE INSCRIBED IN THE WORLD 
HERITAGE LIST IN 1995 BY THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, 
SCIENTIFIC 
AND 
CULTURAL 
ORGANIZATION 
(UNESCO) 
AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREOF 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Creation and Establishment. – There shall be created and 
established a Commission to be called the “Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission”. 
SECTION 2. General Mandate. – The Commission created and established 
is mainly for the restoration, preservation and maintenance of the Ifugao Rice 
Terraces in the municipalities of Banaue, Asipulo, Hungduan, Mayoyao, and 
Kiangan in the Province of Ifugao. 
SECTION 3. Composition of the Commission. – The Commission shall be 
composed of the following, to wit: 
Secretary of Tourism (DOT) 
Chairman 
Secretary of Agriculture (DA) 
Vice Chairman 
Secretary of DENR 
Member 
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Secretary of DPWH 
Member 
Secretary of DILG 
Member 
Provincial Governor of Ifugao 
Member 
Congressman of Ifugao 
Member 
 
 
A representative from each the business, agricultural, and religious sector 
and non-government organizations (NGO) shall serve as consultants to the 
Commission. 
 
The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) shall 
serve as the technical secretariat of the Commission headed by the Chief 
Operating Officer of the Department of Tourism (DOT). 
 
 
SECTION 4. Functions and Responsibilities. – The Commission shall have 
the following functions and responsibilities: 
a) Immediately formulate a ten (10) year Ifugao Rice Terraces Master Plan 
within one (1) year upon its creation and establishment with the 
following guidelines: 
1. Restoration, preservation, and maintenance of the area’s terraces, 
protection of its ecological balance and enhancement of its 
environment; 
2. Maximum enjoyment and easy access of ordinary people to public 
areas; 
3. Rational land-use and zoning plan considering that the Ifugao Rice 
Terraces are national treasure and tourist destinations of Filipinos 
from all parts as well as foreign visitors; 
4. Prohibition/control of usually tall, unstable, and obstructive 
structures obscuring public view of the natural beauty of the 
surroundings in accordance with the zoning ordinances of the local 
government units concerned and subject to the pertinent laws, rules 
and regulations on the matter; 
5. Provision for massive reforestation facilities. 
b) Formulate, coordinate and execute policies on the implementation of all 
programs, projects and activities of the government affecting or relating 
to the Ifugao rice terraces; 
c) Initiate, plan, undertake and supervise the restoration, maintenance 
and development of the rice terraces walls, irrigations, dikes, paddies, 
watersheds, access roads and view decks; 
d) Provide livelihood opportunities as an alternate employment for the 
constituents of these municipalities; 
e) Sponsor and conduct cultural activities in the area; 
f) To contract, lease, sell, dispose, acquire and own properties; 


g) Receive, take and hold by bequest, device, donation, gift from foreign and 
domestic sources, either absolutely or in trust for any of its purpose any 
assets, grant or property, invest and reinvest the same and deal with 
and expand its assets and income in such manner as will best promote 
its objectives; 
h) Enter into contracts with any private person or entity or any government 
agency, either domestic or foreign, whenever necessary for the effective 
discharge of its functions and responsibilities under such terms and 
conditions as it may deem proper and reasonable; 
i) Provide grants for the conduct of historical, architectural or scientific 
researches pertaining to the rice terraces and for other purposes in 
furtherance of its objectives; 
j) Exercise all powers as maybe necessary, essential or incidental to the 
attainment of its objectives. 
 
 
SECTION 5. The Commission shall be provided an office space in the DOT 
buildings and/or premises with office secretariat personnel to be provided by DOT 
and headed by the DOT Secretary or his/her representative.  
 
A provincial office shall be established in the provincial capitol to be 
provided by the Provincial Government of Ifugao. 
 
 
SECTION 6. The Commission may call upon any government agency, office 
or bureau for assistance in the discharge of, and form committees to facilitate the 
performance of, its functions and responsibilities. 
 
SECTION 7. Appropriations. – The appropriation and amount of budget 
necessary to carry out the creation and establishment of the Commission and for 
it to effectively implement its mandate, the same shall be provided from the budget 
allocation of the Department of Tourism (DOT); Department of Agriculture (DA); 
and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to wit: 
a) For the maintenance and operations of the Commission, the same shall be 
provided from the budget of DOT to be sourced out from the travel tax 
and/or MOOE the case maybe; 
b) For the maintenance, preservation and restoration of the needed irrigation 
systems for the terraces, as well as the restoration, maintenance and 
preservation of the rice terraces paddies, the same shall be taken from the 
budget allocations of the DA which shall not be less than 50,000,000.00 PhP 
annually; 
c) For the maintenance, preservation and reforestation of the sources of water 
for the rice terraces, the same shall be taken from the budget of DENR 
which shall not be less than 50,000,000.00 PhP annually. 


 
SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate rules and 
regulations as may be necessary for the effective implementation of the Act. 
SECTION 9. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any part or provisions 
of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or 
provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. – All laws, Decrees, orders, rules and 
regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or 
modified accordingly. 
SECTION 11. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.      
 
 
Approved,