Resablec oft the Philipines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
exon City
Quees ay

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 8090

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR INCENTIVES TO THE MANUFACTURING OF
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Organic and inorganic fertilizers aim to achieve the same thing - help plants grow at
the rate and in the abundance required by the demand of man’s consumption. While
both are used for the same purpose, chemical or inorganic fertilizers are primarily
relied upon by the agriculture industry worldwide since they are in a form readily
absorbed by plants, thus allowing an instantaneous boost of minerals and nutrients
in the soil. Chemical fertilizers have greatly contributed to increased agricultural
production; however, they do not add or maintain soil organic matter and their
continued use can damage the soil’.

In the long run, chemical fertilizers damage the soil. Additionally, leaching, the
process by which fertilizers are washed by rain or irrigation below the level of plant
roots, could lead to the contamination of nearby ecosystems. In fact, the Renmin
University of China found out in its research that farms in China use 40% more than
the needs of the plants resulting in about 10 million tons of fertilizer every year being
discharged into surrounding rivers and lakes’. Unsurprisingly, agriculture is one of
China's largest sources of pollutants.

The Philippines adopts the same agricultural practices, and suffers from it.
Agriculture contributes directly to water nitrate pollution through fertilizer runoff
because too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied to crop soils, and the excess that is
not used by the plants pollutes groundwater, rivers, and coastal areas’, In fact, as far
back as 1998, the Environment and Natural Accounting Resources Project (ENRAP)
estimated that the agriculture industry pollutes Philippine waters by as much as
1,892 kilograms of nitrogen per square kilometer per year, resulting in large algal
blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean.

| http:twww futuredirections.org.au/publication/management-soil-nutrients-chemicalertiisers-nol/

* htipsi/iwww reuters. com/aticle/us-china-agriculture-ferliserichina-needs-to-cut-use-ol-chemical-fertlizers-research-
{gUSTRE60020T20100114

* http:lwwww.greenpeace.to/publications/gpsea_agrochemicabuse-in-the-philip pdt


This bill recognizes that it is about time to abandon agricultural practices that are
cheap, easy, and quick but are ultimately destructive of the soil and the Philippine
waters. Hence, the State must extend its support to the use of organic fertilizers.

The bill aims to ease the tax burden of all local manufacturers of organic fertilizers by
mandating that they shall be exempt from the payment of all kinds of taxes or
imposts whether local or national within a period of five years, provided that the
exemption shall cover any equipment, material, components, supplies, used directly
in the production and distribution of such product and the income derived from such
activity.

Additionally, local manufacturers shall enjoy preferential treatment from government-
owned or controlled banking or financial institutions in the processing of their loan
applications with liberalized terms of payments and interest rates.

It is never too late to do the right thing. In the move towards a more sustainable and
productive agriculture industry, the State has to prioritize measures that encourage
its farmers and manufacturers to do what is right — use and support organic
fertilizers.

In view of the foregoing premises, the swift passage of this bill is sought.

LY frkr

LUIS RAYMU! 'LRAY” ILLAFUERTE, JR.


Rewble of the Philesnes

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
con City
Queson Cits

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL no 8090

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR INCENTIVES TO THE MANUFACTURING OF
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress
assembled:

Section 1. Declaration of Policy. It is the declared policy of the State that the use of
organic materials especially in agriculture be encouraged and promoted in order to
contribute to the preservation of the ecological balance. Therefore, the State shall
extend the necessary incentives for the production and use of organic fertilizer.

Section 2. All local manufacturers of organic fertilizers shall be exempt from the
payment of all kinds of taxes or imposts whether local or national within a period of
five years, provided that the exemption shall cover any equipment, material,
components, supplies, used directly in the production and distribution of such
product and the income derived from such activity.

Section 3. In addition to the foregoing incentives, manufacturers of organic fertilizers
shall be given preferential treatment by government-owned or controlled banking or
financial institutions in the processing of loan applications, liberalized terms of
payments and interest rates.

Section 4. All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations, and other issuances or
parts thereof related to the same subject matter are considered modified, amended,
revised or supplemented by this Act.

Section 5. This Act shall take effect after its publication once a week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of national circulation.

Approved,