CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
Third Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 
2951 
(In Substitution of Senate Bill No. 2131, 
;' ::, 
I, 
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taking into consideration Proposed Senate Resolution Nos. 495, 549 and 1452) 
Prepared and submitted jointly by the Committees on Agriculture and Food, and 
Finance with Senators Recto, Poe and Villar as authors 
AN ACT 
AMENDING THE PERIOD OF COllECTION AND UTILIZATION OF THE 
AGRICULTURAL 
COMPETITIVENESS 
ENHANCEMENT 
FUND 
(ACEF), 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8178, AS AMENDED, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "AN ACT REPLACING QUANTITATIVE IMPORT 
RESTRICTIONS 
ON 
AGRICULTURAL 
PRODUCTS, 
EXCEPT 
RICE, 
WITH 
TARIFFS, CREATING THE AGRICULTURAL COMPETITIVENESS ENHANCEMENT 
FUND, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
1 
SECTION 1. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended, otherwise 
2 
known as "An Act Replacing Quantitative Import Restrictions on Agricultural Products, 
3 
Except Rice, With Tariffs, Creating the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement 
4 
Fund, and For Other Purposes" is hereby further amended, to read as follows: 
5 
"SEC. 8. Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. - To 
6 
implement the policy enunciated in this Act, there is hereby created the 
7 
Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, hereinafter referred to 
8 
as the Fund. The Fund shall consist of all duties collected from the 
9 
importation of agricultural products under the minimum access volume 
10 
(MAV) mechanism, including unused balances and collections from 
11 
repayments from loan beneficiaries including interests, if any. The Fund 
12 
shall be automatically credited to Special Account 183 in the General 
13 
Fund of the National Treasury: Provided, That fund releases shall not be 


1 
subject to any ceiling by the Department of Budget and Management 
2 
(DBM). 
3 
The Fund shall continue to be set aside up to the year [2015] 
4 
2020, after which the collection of duties from the MAV mechanism and 
5 
the setting aside of the amount collected for the purpose shall terminate. 
6 
However, any remaining balance(s) at the date of expiration of the 
7 
COLLECTION OF DUTIES FOR THE Fund shall not revert to the General 
8 
Fund but shall continue to be used for the purpose for which it was 
9 
collected and set aside. 
10 
The Fund shall be set aside and RELEASED FOR: [earmarked 
11 
by Congress: (a) for the protection of farmers against unfair trade 
12 
practices such as smuggling, dumping of agricultural products or other 
13 
similar acts of unfair trade practices; and (b) for the increased 
14 
productivity of farmers by providing the necessary support services such 
15 
as, but not limited to, irrigation, farm-to-market roads, post-harvest 
16 
equipment and facilities, credit, research and development, other 
17 
marketing infrastructure, provision of market information, retraining, 
18 
extension services, micro, 
small and medium scale enterprises 
19 
(MSMSE) in agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries sectors; young 
20 
entrepreneurs, out-of-school youth, graduates of agriculture, fisheries 
21 
and related courses; agriculture and fishery cooperatives, corporations 
22 
and other entrepreneurs engaged in economic enterprises related to 
23 
agriculture and fisheries and assistance and support to agricultural 
24 
activities including, but not limited to, the reduction of input cost, quality 
25 
improvement, supply chain efficiency and other infrastructure including 
26 
access as well as an established transportation mechanism towards 
27 
speedy delivery of products] (Al THE INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY OF 
28 
FARMERS AND FISHERFOLKS BY PROVIDING THE NECESSARY 
2 


1 
CREDIT TO FARMERS AND FISHERFOLKS COOPERATIVES AND 
2 
ASSOCIA TlONS, AND MICRO AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES, 
3 
FOR THE ACQUISITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF PRODUCTION, 
4 
POST-HARVEST, AND PROCESSING MACHINERIES, EQUIPMENT 
5 
AND 
FACILITIES; 
(B) 
RESEARCH 
AND 
DEVELOPMENT ON 
6 
AGRICULTURAL 
AND 
FISHERY 
PRODUCTS 
OF 
STATE 
7 
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES; AND (C) A COMPREHENSIVE AND 
8 
ATTRACTIVE 
GRANT-IN-AID 
PROGRAM 
FOR 
AGRICULTURE, 
9 
FORESTRY, FISHERIES, AND VETERINARY MEDICINE EDUCATION 
10 
TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND 
11 
FISHERIES: Provided, That: 
12 
(1) preferential attention should be continuously given to products 
13 
or people adversely affected by the repeal or removal of quantitative 
14 
import restrictions to agricultural products as provided for in Section 4 of 
15 
this Act; 
16 
(2) THE USE OF THE FUND SHALL be consistent with the 
17 
pOlicies and priority thrusts under Republic Act No. 8435, as amended, 
18 
otherwise known as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modemization Act vis-
19 
a-vis [Goals 1 and 2 under] the Medium-Term Philippine Development 
20 
Plan (MTPDP); 
21 
(3) THE USE OF THE FUND SHALL be complementary and 
22 
supportive of the various and current funding assistance windows or 
23 
programs of the Department of Agriculture and other government 
24 
institutions; 
25 
(4) PROJECTS 
TO 
BE 
FUNDED 
SHALL 
enhance 
the 
26 
competitiveness of target project beneficiaries or sectors, especially the 
27 
small farmers and fisherfolkS; 
3 


1 
(5) [provide] product or service competitiveness in the local and 
2 
foreign markets in terms of product or service prices or fees and quality, 
3 
IS ACHIEVED; 
4 
(6) [promote] upstream and downstream linkages with related 
5 
and complementary agricultural activities ARE PROMOTED; 
6 
(7) [provide] clear and verifiable proof of sustainability of 
7 
operations IS DETERMINED AND SUPPORTED; and 
8 
(8) PROJECTS FUNDED SHALL be beneficial to most, and not 
9 
only selected, firms or groups within a sector. 
10 
[For purposes of this Act, 
local government units, state 
11 
universities and colleges or other government institutions involved in the 
12 
research and development of agricultural products may avail of the 
13 
ACEF in the form of financial grant without any collateral or security.] 
14 
The Fund shall be set aside and earmarked as follows: 
15 
(1) [Seventy] EIGHTY percent [(70%)] (80%), IN THE FORM OF 
16 
CREDIT WITH MINIMAL INTEREST, WHICH SHALL NOT EXCEED 
17 
FIVE MILLION PESOS (PHP5,000,000.00) PER PROJECT LOAN, for 
18 
THE ACQUISITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF agri-based production 
19 
and post-production, and processing [activities including, but not limited 
20 
to, 
new export industries and 
agri-related 
infrastructure 
and] 
21 
MACHINERIES, equipment AND FACILITIES to achieve modern 
22 
agricultural practices, TO BE EXTENDED TO [; and for public 
23 
information and promotion activities including the establishment of a 
24 
principal mechanism therefore to promote the desired agricultural 
25 
products and activities and create new market. 
26 
The following areas are likewise accorded priorities: assistance to 
27 
individual] Filipino farmers and fisherfolkS [,] ASSOCIATIONS AND 
28 
cooperatives, and micro[,] AND small [and medium] scale enterprises as 
4 


1 
defined in Republic Act No. 6977, AS AMENDED, engaged in [the] 
2 
agricultural production, farming, fisheries, agri-business and similar 
3 
activities. 
4 
THE 
LOAN 
BENEFICIARIES 
SHALL 
PROVIDE 
A 
5 
COUNTERPART FUND OR EQUITY OF NOT LESS THAN TEN 
6 
PERCENT (10%) OF THE TOTAL PROJECT COST, WHICH MAY BE 
7 
IN THE FORM OF CAPITAL OUTLAY, LABOR, LAND FOR THE 
8 
PROJECT SITE, FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND SALARIES. 
9 
THE LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES SHALL MANAGE 
10 
THE CREDIT FACILITY FUNDED OUT OF THE FUND AND SHALL 
11 
DETERMINE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND SET THE 
12 
REQUIRED 
LOAN 
SECURITY OR COLLATERAL 
OF 
LOAN 
13 
BENEFICIARIES. FOR THIS PURPOSE, THE LAND BANK IS 
14 
HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO CHARGE A MANAGEMENT FEE FROM 
15 
THE FUND. 
16 
(2) [fwenty] TEN percent [(20%)] (10%) AS GRANTS for 
17 
research and development OF AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY 
18 
PRODUCTS, and the commercialization of such, including the upgrading 
19 
of research facilities, of qualified state universities and colleges, WHICH 
20 
SHALL NOT EXCEED FIVE MILLION PESOS (PHP5,000,000.OO) PER 
21 
PROJECT; and 
22 
(3) Ten percent (10%) to be used for the funding of a 
23 
comprehensive 
[scholarship] 
AND 
ATTRACTIVE 
GRANT-IN-AID 
24 
program for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and veterinary medicine 
25 
education, TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER 
26 
EDUCATION. 
5 


1 
TO ENSURE THE ATTAINMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES OF 
2 
THE FUND, THERE IS HEREBY CREATED AN ACEF EXECUTIVE 
3 
COMMITTEE, COMPOSED OF: 
4 
A. THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, AS CHAIR; 
5 
B. THE 
PRESIDENT 
OF 
THE 
LAND 
BANK 
OF 
THE 
6 
PHILIPPINES; 
7 
C. THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER 
8 
EDUCATION; 
9 
D. A REPRESENTATIVE OF FARMERS ASSOCIATIONS AND 
10 
COOPERATIVES; AND 
11 
E. A REPRESENTATIVE OF FISHERFOLKS ASSOCIATIONS 
12 
AND COOPERATIVES. 
13 
THE COMMITTEE SHALL PROMULGATE THE POLICIES 
14 
AND 
GUIDELINES 
NECESSARY 
FOR 
THE 
PLANNING, 
15 
ADMINISTRATION, COORDINATION AND MONITORING OF THE 
16 
UTILIZATION OF THE FUND. 
17 
The Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and 
18 
Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) shall conduct a periodic review of 
19 
the use of the Fund." 
20 
SEC. 2. Separability Clause. -
If any portion of this Act is declared 
21 
unconstitutional or invalid, the portions or proVisions which are not affected shall 
22 
continue to be in full force and effect. 
23 
SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive issuances, rules and 
24 
regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
25 
SEC. 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its 
26 
pUblication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved, 
6