Republic of the Philippine
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. pelle

4

Introduced by Rep. 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 know as the “Farm Tourism
Development Act of 2016,” farm tourism, also referred to as agri-tourism, is the practice
attracting visitors and tourism to farm areas for production, education and recreational
purposes. It involves any agriculture-or fishing-based operation or activity that brings toa
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, destination 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 agriculture and tourism industries in the area.
The park helps promote farm tourism to agriculture 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
(lapu-lapu) 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 boats 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.

This bill has been approved on third reading during the Seventeenth Congress.

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

ERICO ARISTOTLE C. AUMENTADO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 2105

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 Philippine 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

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,