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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No,_ 3908

Introduced by Representative LINABELLE RUTH R. VILLARICA
4™ DISTRICT, BULACAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Malunggay or Moringa Oleifera is one of the world's most useful crops and is a
tropical tree with multifarious uses.

The numerous economic uses of Malunggay together with its easy propagation have
raised the growing international interest. Presently, cultivation on large scale is seen
in India, Israel, Thailand, South Asian Countries, Africa and Pacific Islands. In India,
it occupies 40,000 hectares which account for more than 80% of the area and
production in India’, Its leaves contains the highest amount of calcium and
phosphorous among vegetables. It offers great potential to those nutritionally at risk
as it contains a good source of vitamin A, vitamins B & C, iron, and the sulphur-
containing amino acids methionine cystine among others.

Moringa seeds also contains a high quality edible oil. Its roots are acrid, digestive,
anthelmentic, constipating, anodyne, bitter alexipharmic stimulant and vesicant.
They are useful in paralysis, inflammations, fever, cough, cold, bronchitis, pectoral
diseases, epilepsy and hysteria

This plant represents an environmentally-friendly alternative for the sustainable
development of the food, health and technology industries. Studies indicate that it
has various bioactive chemical compounds, is useful for human and animal
conalimption; for the treatment of some diseases and as raw material in the cosmetic
industry’.

An institutionalization of this malunggay industry is needed in order to ensure its
sustainability. This bill engaged the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with
the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, farmer's cooperative or association, local government units and the
private sector, to formulate a five-year Framework for Development that will guide in

' Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops, vol 4, 2008, KV. Peter ed, p 111-130
2 Moringa: potential uses in agriculture, industry and medicine. Revista Chapingo Serie Norticultura 22(2), 95-116,
dok: 10.5154 /r.rehsh.2015.07.018


the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and projects for the
production, marketing, processing, and distribution of malunggay

This bill tasked the Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources to identify areas suitable for planting and
propagation of malunggay within six months after the effectivity of this Act. The
establishment of a fund known as the Malunggay Development Fund (MDF) will
provide the funding requirements needed for its production, marketing, and
processing of malunggay to be taken from the existing budget of the Department of
Agriculture

In view of the merits of this bill, approval in this regard is immediately sought.

REP. LINABELLE RUTH R. VILLARICA


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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session :

House Bill No, 38908 _

Introduced by Representative LINABELLE RUTH R. VILLARICA
4™ DISTRICT, BULACAN

AN ACT PROMOTING THE PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, MARKETING AND
DISTRIBUTION OF MORINGA OLEIFERA OR MALUNGGAY, MANDATING THE
CREATION OF A FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT PLAN, PROVIDING
FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Title - This Act shall be known as the “Malunggay Development Act of
2016"

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy — It is hereby declared 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 the planting of 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, and distribution of malunggay in suitable areas of the country.

SECTION 3. Site Identification - The Department of Agriculture, in coordination
with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the municipal
government concerned, shall identify the broad areas suitable for the planting and
propagation of malunggay, within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act
Provided, That such site identification shall be reviewed at appropriate intervals to
ensure consistency with the agrarian reform program and the national land use
policy.

SECTION 4. Malunggay Framework for Development - The Department of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, farmer's group, local government units, and
the private sector, shall formulate a five-year Framework for Development, to be
validated and updated annually. Such Framework shall serve as guide to the


formulation and implementation of plans, programs and projects for the production,
marketing, processing and distribution of Malunggay for food, medicinal, health and
commercial needs, as envisioned in this Act. The Framework shall likewise provide
for the following:

a The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry,
shall link-up agribusiness cooperatives directly with consumers
cooperatives, agro-processing companies, or exporters to provide
marketing outlets for products with malunggay component;

b. To ensure health and proper trading, the Department of Agriculture shall
establish and enforce standards in grading, sampling and inspection, tests
and analysis, specifications, nomenclature, units of measurement, code of
practice and packaging, preservation, conservation, and transportation of
malunggay;

c. Technical support on research and extension, infrastructure development,
financial and market information shall be provided by the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and
Technology, Cooperative Development Authority, state universities and
colleges and other relevant government agencies,

d. Access to post harvest facilities, storage and distribution/transport facilities
of existing government agencies shall be facilitated. Assistance shall be
given to qualified and viable farmers/growers cooperatives in the availment
of soft loans or grants for the construction of post-harvest, processing and
storage facilities;

e. The Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the state universities
and colleges, the Department of Trade and Industry, and farmers
organization shall make good seeds and materials readily available to
farmers/farmers' cooperatives to ensure high yield and good quality of
malunggay; and

f The Department of Agriculture shall establish Malunggay Information
Center in areas identified pursuant to Section 3 of this Act.

SECTION 5. Malunggay Development Fund (MDF) - To provide the funding
requirements for the production, marketing and processing of malunggay, there is
hereby created a Malunggay Development Fund (MDF) to be taken from the existing
budget of the Department of Agriculture. Thereafter, the MDF shall be sourced from
the amounts be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act in the year following
its enactment into law. Other sources of funds, including but not limited to
borrowings form local and international financial institutions, shall also be considered
to further support the Fund

SECTION 6. Inter-Agency Committee - A Committee, composed of a
representative from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian
Reform, the Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Land Bank
of the Philippines, the Development Bank of the Philippines, the Cooperative
Development Authority, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department
of Trade and Industry, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and
the Department of Interior and Local Government and one (1) each from the small


farmers and commercial producers sectors to be designated by the Secretary of
Shall formulate and prescribe, after public hearing and publication ae
pecuired by law, the implementing rules and regulations in order to carry out the
Provisions of this Act. The representatives from the Department of Agriculture and
the Department of Trade and Industry shall be the chairman and the vice-chairman,
respectively, of the Committee.

The representatives from the government agencies must have a rank of at least an
Assistant Secretary,

The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall report to both Houses of
Congress on the status of the implementation of this Act bi-annually

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause — All laws or parts thereof, decrees, orders, rules
and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly: Provided however, That nothing in this Act shall be construed
oF applied as amending the CARL and other laws on agrarian reform

SECTION 8, Separability Clause — If any of the provisions of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, other provisions hereby not affected thereby shall remain
in full force and effect.

SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause - This Act shall take effect immediately afer its
Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,