Republic of the Philippines i
House of Representatives ——
(Quezon City, Metro Manila s/f
ry a,
Seventeenth Congress :

Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo. 6052 _

Introduced by Representative Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to declare the Municipality of Ubay in the Province of Bohol
as the “Farm Tourism Destination Capital of Bohol.”

Under Republic Act No. 10816, otherwise known as the “Farm Tourism
Development Act of 2016,” farm tourism, also referred to as agri-tourism, is the
practice of attracting visitors and tourists to farm areas for production,
educational and recreational purposes. It involves any agricultural-or fishing-
based operation or activity that brings to a farm visitors, tourists, farmers and
fisherfolk who want to be educated and trained on farming and its related
activities, and provides a venue for outdoor recreation and accessible family
outings.

Ubay is a first-class municipality in the province of Bohol. According to
the 2015 census, it has a population of 73, 712, making Ubay the most populated
municipality in the entire province of Bohol.

It has a tropical climate and most months of the year are marked by
significant precipitation making agriculture favorable — it supports at least two
rice crops per year.

Ubay’s points of interest, destinations and attractions include the Ubay
Stock Farm which is the largest and oldest government livestock facility in the
Philippines. The place was chosen by the Department of Agriculture as one of the
accredited livestock technology training facilities in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Ubay Agri-Park, the first of its kind in the Visayas was launched to boost the

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agriculture and tourism industries in the area. The park helps promote farm
tourism or agri-tourism and is a showcase of Bohol’s advances in farm
technology. Ubay is also home to Sinandigan Multi-Species Hatchery which is
the biggest multi-species hatchery in the Philippines. It is a fishery infrastructure
and mariculture park established to enable the fish farmers to become totally
independent from wild stocks to promote a more stable food security for the
province. The facility is producing fingerlings of various fisheries products such
as milkfish (bangus), groupers (/apulapu) and siganids (kitong, danggit). It also
houses a seaweed tissue culture laboratory which aims to rehabilitate quality
seagrass planting materials using tissue branch culture, spore shredding and callus
cell culture. Another attraction in Ubay is the Ubay Green Park and Techno
Center, which was formerly an open dumpsite converted into an ecological
facility. The park, which boasts of sprawling flowers and fruit gardens was
launched in 2013.

This bill, which seeks to boost farm tourism in the Philippines, recognizes
that tourism can propagate the value of agriculture in the economic and cultural
development of the country. Farm tourism also serves as the catalyst for the
development of agriculture and fishery communities, and provide additional
income for farmers, farmworkers and fisherfolk.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

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ERI iSTOTLI MENTADO


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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 6052

Introduced by Representative Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado

AN ACT
DECLARING THE MUNICIPALITY OF UBAY IN THE PROVINCE OF
BOHOL AS THE FARM TOURISM DESTINATION CAPITAL OF
BOHOL
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. The Municipality of Ubay in the Province of Bohol is hereby
declared the farm tourism destination capital of Bohol. Accredited farm tourism
destinations in the Municipality of Ubay may avail of the privileges and benefits
provided under Republic Act No. 10816, otherwise known as the “Farm Tourism
Development Act of 2016.”

SEC. 2. The Municipality of Ubay shall coordinate with the Department
of Tourism, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of

Transportation and the Department of Agriculture in the prioritization of

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infrastructure projects that will promote farm tourism in the Municipality of Ubay
in accordance with the provisions of “Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016.”

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,