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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4812

House Bill No.

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay ~ Villar

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Bamboo is gaining economic importance in the Philippines as it a viable substitute to wood for
furniture, handicrafts, and construction materials and for the production of textiles, paper, other
chemical products and biomass energy. Other than the economic benefits from bamboo, it can
contribute significantly to environmental conservation and protection, as it can prevent soil erosion,
landslides, flooding, as well as reduce the greenhouse effect because of its property that effectively
lowers carbon emission.

Moreover, bamboo presents a solution to deforestation since it can be planted on different terrains
including mountains. Bamboo production is also an effective sustainable community project for
small farmers that can improve their lives since it can be an additional crop in multi-cropping farms
to complement existing crops and in effect provide additional income for our local farmers.

According to DOST — Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), global
market for bamboo in 2006 stands at about 7 billion US dollars and was projected to increase to
US$17 B from 2015 to 2020. Currently, Philippines is the fifth largest bamboo exporter in the
world. Among the top exporters of bamboo are China, EU, Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively.

‘The Philippine Bamboo Foundation recently reported that up to 52,000 hectares of land in the
country is planted to bamboo but this is not sufficient to meet the market demand. The demands
for bamboo continue to increase as the government promotes production and development of
bamboo industry. In 2010, Executive Order 879 created the Philippine Bamboo Industry
Development (PBID) Council to promote the bamboo industry development project, which was
later intensified by Memorandum Circular No. 30 s. 2012 directing the full implementation of the
Philippine Bamboo Industry Program.

However, aside from low production due to lesser land areas planted with bamboo, the
development of bamboo industry is confronted with challenges, i.e— quality of bamboo poles;
slow pace on bamboo plantation development; promotion and commercialization of the developed
technologies for the manufacturing innovative and globally competitive engineered bamboo
products.

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While our government is backing the promotion and development of bamboo, there is still a need
to institutionalize the bamboo development program to consolidate the efforts of our government
institutions and partnerships with private sectors to foster a more vibrant bamboo industry in the
Philippines.

This bill — filed as a counterpart of Senate Bill No. 716 with the support of its author, Senator
Cynthia Villar — aims to institutionalize the bamboo industry development program to translate to
a more concrete, efficient, and effective program thrusts not just to meet the local demands but
also to deliver globally competitive bamboo products and expand our international market
demands.

fate 2. Kloo
EMMELINE Y. AGLIPAY - VILLAR
Representative, DIWA Party-list

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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 48.12

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay ~ Villar

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE BAMBOO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Title. - This bill shall be known as the "Bamboo Industry Act of 2016”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State shall provide for a self-reliant and independent economy
to its people. It shall support indigenous, scientific and technological capabilities, and skills. It
shall establish a program to conserve, propagate and promote bamboo as substitute for wood in
making furniture, handicrafts, and construction materials; as well as to be used as food and as raw
materials for the production of textiles, paper, and other chemical products. It shall promote the
bamboo industry for poverty reduction, environmental conservation and protection, agricultural
productivity enhancement, climate change mitigation and adaptation.

SEC. 3. Creation of the Philippine Bamboo Council. - There is hereby established, prioritized and
institutionalized the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Program (PBIDP) within the
mandate of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council as contained in Executive Order
No.879.

SEC. 4. Objectives of the PBIDP. - The PBIDP aims to make the Philippine Bamboo Industry
competitive in the local and international markets while providing opportunities for local
employment and providing opportunities for rural-based, micro, small and medium community
enterprises to flourish by—

a) Expanding the number of bamboo nurseries with quality and disease free planting materials;

b) Using bamboo in the manufacture of at least twenty five percent (25%) of furniture as an
alternative to wood in public primary and secondary schools in the country;

©) Requiring at least twenty (20%) percent of the annual planting materials needed in National
Greening Program or Reforestation in open. denuded, and degraded forest be bamboo;

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d
e)

Establishing a procedure for backyard bamboo farming;
Ensuring the propagation, breeding, site species matching and plant nutrition;

f) Ensuring soil and water conservation practices are observed. Ensuring that the bamboo
industry is able to receive relevant and current research and technological information and
new product lines;

g) Promoting investments in the bamboo development programs;
h) Providing skilled labor in bamboo processing by continuous training and capacity building;

i) Ensuring that the machines to be used shall be by a local manufacturer that provide for
safety, security and competitiveness;

i) Ensuring that there are markets for bamboo locally and internationally; and
k)_ Ensuring the sustainability of the bamboo industry.

SEC. 5. The Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Program (PBIDP). The PBIDP shall be
formulated by the stakeholders including planters, processors, marketing and promotion service
providers, relevant government agencies, and local government units. The program shall make
sure that the objectives as enumerated in Sec. 5 of this Act are met.

SEC. 6. The Bamboo Development Framework. The Bamboo Industry Development Framework
shall provide for a ten-year plan, projects, programs and policies for the scientific propagation,
processing, utilization and business development of the Philippine Bamboo.

SEC. 7. Implementing Agency. There is hereby created a Philippine Bamboo Industry
Development Coordinating Council (PBIDCC), herein referred to as the Council, administratively
attached to the Department of Trade and Industry, charged with the main function of coordinating
the activities of various agencies and instrumentalities to ensure the accomplishment of the
Philippine Bamboo Framework for Development.

SEC. 8. Composition. The Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Coordinating Council shall
be composed of the following:

a) Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry as Chairman (DTI);

b) Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Operations and
Development Group (DTI-RODG) as Head of the Council Secretariat;

Executive Director of the Cottage Industry Development Center (CICT) as the Head of the
Bamboo Technical Working Group;

4d) Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);
e) Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA);

f) Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd);

g

°)

Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR);

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h) Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST);
Secretary of the Labor and Employment (DOLE);

i) Representative from the League of Municipalities of the Philippines;
k) Representative from the League of Cities of the Philippines;

Three (3) Representatives from State Universities and Colleges, one each from each of the
island group of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao;

m) Representative from a reputable Private Industry Association;
1n) Two (2) Representatives from Bamboo Farmers’ /Producers’ Processors’ Associations;
(©) One (1) Representative from Non-Governmental Organization promoting bamboo.

The Council shall regularly meet every two (2) months and may hold special meetings, whenever
the need arises, to consider urgent matters upon the call of the Chairman or any eight (8) Council
members.

SEC. 9. Council Secretariat, The Council Secretariat shall be headed by the Undersecretary of the
Department of Trade and Industry-Regional Operations and Development Group (DTI-RODG).
Technical support shall be provided by the Bamboo Technical Working Group as headed by the
Executive Director of the Cottage Industry Development Center (CICT).

The Secretariat and technical staff shall be detailed from the existing personnel of the DTI without
prejudice to the designation of such additional staff members as it may deem necessary for the
proper discharge of its functions and responsibilities.

SEC.10. Authority to generate resources. The PBIDC through its Secretariat is authorized to accept
donations and contributions from local and international donors, sources for the attainment of its
objectives;

SEC. 11. Participation of the League of Municipalities, Cities and Provinces. The League of
Municipalities, Cities and Provinces are hereby directed to participate in the implementation of
this Act by establishing their own Bamboo Industry Development Program and the creation of
their Bamboo Industry Development Councils in their respective Local Government Units;

SEC. 12. Incentives to Investors in Plantation Development and Bamboo Processing Factories.

a) Free from the payment of rent in government land used for commercial bamboo plantation
for the first five years or until the planter is able to harvest his plantation;

b) Forest plantation in private lands shall be free to cut and transport their products without
the necessary cutting permit for harvesting as long as their plantation is registered with the
Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of the DENR. Inventory
of the plantation prior to harvest shall not be required. Only a notice to the CENRO of the
date and volume of harvest should be made by the plantation owner. The CENRO’s are

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required to have a book of registry containing the list of all the bamboo plantations in
private lands and their application.

0

Free of payment of forest charges and other fees or taxes that local government units may
impose;
d)

Private owners of bamboo plantations shall not be subject to inspection during the transport
of their bamboo products in check points;

Private owners of bamboo plantations can access loans from public financial institutions;
) Plantations and equipment can be insured by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation;

8
a)

Tax free importation of plantation equipment and facilities;

Provision of preferential rates and special window to bamboo farmers, producers,
processors and exporters by the Land Bank of the Philippines;

i) Bamboo business entity or enterprise to be registered under the Board of Investments (BOI)
shall be entitled to the existing pertinent fiscal incentives as provided by the Board of
Investments or those provided under Executive Order No. 226, as amended, otherwise
known as the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987.

SEC. 13. Report. - The PBIDCC shall submit an annual report to the Office of the President, the
Senate, and the House of Representatives of their accomplishment and status of the bamboo
development in the country.

SEC. 14. Appropriation for the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Fund. - Upon approval
of this law, the Office of the President through PAGCOR shall so allocate a One hundred Million
Pesos (Ph100, 000,000.00) initial fund as the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Fund for
the funding requirements for the propagation, production, processing, marketing and distribution
of Philippine Bamboo Program. For the succeeding years, an annual allocation of not less than
Two Hundred Million Pesos (P200, 000,000.00) shall be included in the General Appropriations
Act for the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Fund lodged in the Department of Trade
and Industry’s Regional Operations and Development Group (DTI-RODG), for the
implementation of this Act. The budgetary requirements of cooperating agencies shall be
incorporated in their respective annual budgets.

SEC. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The Philippine Bamboo Industry Development
Coordinating Council shall formulate and prescribe the necessary implementing rules and
regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 16. 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.

‘SEC. 17. Separability Clause. - If any part, section, or provision of this Act shall be held invalid
or unconstitutional, the rest of the provisions shall not be affected thereby.

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SEC. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

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