Republic of the Philippin
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 6954

Introduced by Representative GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT CREATING A PROGRESSIVE, VIBRANT AND VIABLE MORINGA
OLEIFERA (MALUNGGAY-BASED) INDUSTRIES THROUGH AN INCLUSIVE,
VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY INTEGRATED VALUE CHAIN IN THE
DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL MARKETS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Malunggay is considered as a "miracle vegetable" or “nature's medicine cabinet" by
scientists and health care professionals from around the world, noted for its nutritional,
culinary and medicinal uses, as well as a natural maternal and child care food rich in
vitamins and minerals that can be an effective remedy against many kinds of ailments,
such as diabetes, hypertension, inflammations, infections, cancer and aging issues and
other lifestyle diseases.

Malunggay is a common green leafy vegetable grown with distinct comparative
advantage in practically all soil types and weather conditions in the whole country and
found in almost all household backyards in the country and abroad; a hardy plant that
can be grown in varied growing environments; whose almost all parts, have various
important application in industrial, pharmaceutical and food industries, as well as health
and wellness industries, including livestock and poultry nutrition and veterinary care.

Developing a vibrant and viable Malunggay-based agro-industries supports agri-
industrialization initiatives of the Duterte Administration and can help address the
nutritional deficiency problems common in the countryside and urban slums, increase
multifarious and varied on-farm, off-farm and non-farm enterprise incomes, generate
millions of jobs, utilize vast tracts of idle agricultural lands and urban spaces, make the
Philippines globally competitive, impact local and international market, and help attain
food security and safety, poverty reduction and socio-economic equity.


The Public-Private Sector Partnership Governance under the no graft and no corruption
business climate and environment has been adopted by the Duterte Government and
now well enshrined under the 2016-2022 Philippine Development Plan.

In view of the benefits that will be gained by maximizing the yield and use of maluggay
for agricultural, industrial, commercial and medicinal purposes, the passage of this bill is
earnestly sought.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
2" District, Pampanga


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

6954

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT CREATING A PROGRESSIVE, VIBRANT AND VIABLE MORINGA
OLEIFERA (MALUNGGAY-BASED) INDUSTRIES THROUGH AN INCLUSIVE,
VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY INTEGRATED VALUE CHAIN IN THE
DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL MARKETS

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Malunggay Industry
Development Act of 2018”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby the policy of the State to accelerate
the growth and development of the rural areas, improve investment climate,
competencies and efficiency of agribusiness, address the nutritional and health needs of
our people, and promote malunggay as a source of livelihood, a means of attaining food
security, and as an effective approach to poverty alleviation, through an all-out promotion
of the production, processing, marketing of malunggay in the country.

SECTION 3. Malunggay Framework for Development. — The Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), as well as the Philippine Center for
Entrepreneurship (Go Negosyo) will team up and coordinate with Moringaling Foundation
Philippines, Inc. (MFPI) to organize the Moringa producers, processors, inputs producers
and suppliers, domestic and international marketers and traders as well as many
‘supporting, allied and related industries and aggrupations into an umbrella organization.

The Moringaling Foundation Philippines, Inc. (MFPI), will focus on the coordination and
integration of production, research and development extension (RDE), post-harvest
handling, processing, marketing, product development and standardization, storage and
distribution and whole Malunggay value chain focusing on its vertical and horizontal
integration.

SECTION 4. Creation of Malunggay Private-Public Partnership Council (MPPPC)
- The Malunggay Private-Public Partnership Council (MPPPC) is hereby created and
organized consisting of all collaborating departments and agencies as well as the various
organizations of input suppliers, producers, processors, distributors, traders and
marketers as well as RDE, product standards and certification groups and other related
key players in the industry. The Secretary of DTI shall serve as the Chairperson with the
Secretary of DA as the Co-Chair. The Chair of MFPI as umbrella organization and


Chairperson or Executive Director of MFPI shall serve as Co-Vice Chair. The MPPPC
shall be organized by the Secretary of DTI within 45 days from the effectivity of this Act.

The MPPPC shall develop policies, programs and projects on RDE, capacity building,
training, and develop education, information and communication (EIC) materials for the
promotion of the Malunggay-based industries including its input supply, supporting allied
and related industries that will be organized into Agro-Based Industrial Clusters (ABIC) in
the countryside and strategic production zones cum processing centers that are
mandated under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 (RA 8435, as
amended).

SECTION 5. Support to Farmers, Business Industry and Cooperatives. - Farmers,
farmer-based and moringa-based business groups, associations, and cooperatives in all
strategic moringa development zones and key production and processing areas as
indicated in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 (Republic Act 8435
as amended) shall be supported in their malunggay production, post-harvest handling,
product development, processing and marketing activities through grants and/or aids to
farmer associations or cooperatives subject to approval of the MPPPC.

SECTION 6. Role of Various Government Agencies. - The Department of Trade
and Industry shalll prioritize the development of National Product Standards for Moringa
products and its synchronization and compliance with international product standards and
equivalence. The Department of Finance (DOF) in collaboration with Land Bank of the
Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Small Business
Guarantee and Finance Corporation (SBGFC) as well as Board of Investments (BO!),
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) shall provide the financing modalities and
mechanisms for funding the grant, equity and loan requirements of the moringa-based
industries.

SECTION 7. Role of Moringaling Foundation Philippines, Inc. - The Moringaling
Foundation Philippines, Inc. in collaboration with other concerned agencies and
institutions shall produce comprehensive education and entrepreneurship reference
documents covering the whole range of malunggay value chain appropriate for use by
grade school, junior and senior high school students as well as higher education
institutions particularly in the State Colleges and Universities, farmers and entrepreneurs
to be additionally funded from the annual budget of DA-Bureau of Agriculture Research
(DA-BAR), DA-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI), Department of Education and
Commission on Higher Education for research and development extension.

SECTION 8. Budgetary Requirement. — A budget of at least One hundred million
pesos (Php100M) with incremental increase of Ten million pesos (Php10 M) per year
shall be included in the annual National Expenditure Plan (NEP) and/or General
Appropriations Act (GAA) and rationally allocated for RDE, production, post-harvest
handling, product development and standardization, processing, domestic and export
market promotion and development as well as support to allied, supporting and related
industries to be shared equally from the budgets of the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST),
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Interior and
Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Institute of Traditional
and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), Department of Education (DepEd), Commission
on Higher Education (CHED) and other related agencies for submission to the Congress
of the Philippines. Imperatively, budget realignments in 2018 is hereby allowed to start
the effective implementation of this Act under the 2018 General Appropriations Act.
Further, an allocation shall be earmarked for the subsidized moringa product


development and standardization, including certification charges for export of malunggay
and processed malunggay products from the annual operating budget of the Department
of Agriculture in support of the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 (Republic Act 10068);

SECTION 9. Separability Clause. - If any provisions or part hereof, is held invalid
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended
accordingly.

SECTION 11. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation with its Implementing
Rules and Regulations promulgated by the MPPPC within sixty (60) days from the formal
organization of the Council.

Approved,