A bill seeking to institutionalize the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Program in a bid to strengthen the country’s bamboo industry and create livelihood opportunities has been approved on third and final reading before the Senate.
With 16 affirmative votes, no negative vote, and no abstention, Senate Bill No. 2495, or the proposed “Kawayan Act,” was approved during the chamber’s plenary session.
The measure, sponsored by Senator Migz Zubiri, consolidates several proposals seeking to develop and strengthen the Philippine bamboo industry.
“Despite the wide use of bamboo in the country, however, the truth is that our bamboo industry has plateaued over the years. Here in Southeast Asia, we are lagging behind Vietnam and Indonesia in the promotion of bamboo as a product,” Zubiri said.
“Without complete, up-to-date figures, we cannot set growth targets nor quantify the support needed by local bamboo producers.”
“There has been minimal government support for bamboo research and development over the years, which means that industry data has been lacking. And without complete, up-to-date figures, we cannot set growth targets nor quantify the support needed by local bamboo producers,” the veteran legislator added.
Under the bill, a Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap (PBIDR) will be established. PBIDR is a five-year national strategy that will guide the propagation, processing, utilization, commercialization, and promotion of bamboo and bamboo-based products.
Under the bill, a Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap will be established.
It likewise seeks to reconstitute the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council, created under Executive Order No. 879, series of 2010, to oversee the implementation of the roadmap. The council will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), with the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as vice chairperson, along with representatives from other government agencies and the private sector and non-government organizations.
Also, the Council will coordinate government programs for bamboo development, identify areas for bamboo plantations, facilitate financing and credit windows, promote processing facilities and bamboo farm tourism, support mechanization, strengthen market access, and provide capacity-building and technical assistance to farmers, processors, designers, and other stakeholders.
The measure seeks to expand the use of bamboo in environmental rehabilitation and government procurement. The DENR would be required to use bamboo as planting material for at least 25 percent of its annual reforestation and rehabilitation programs, particularly in areas suitable for bamboo-based industries or where trees are difficult to grow.
In this measure, at least 25 percent of the annual requirement for school desks and armchairs procured by the Department of Education for public elementary and secondary schools would also be made from bamboo, as far as practicable. The use of bamboo furniture and fixtures in government facilities would likewise be encouraged when feasible.
To boost bamboo enterprises, the bill likewise allocates 20 percent of the Department of Science and Technology’s assistance funds for small and medium enterprises, including programs such as the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program and the Technology Application and Promotion Institute venture capital program, to bamboo-based enterprises.
