MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte has inked two laws that acknowledge the importance of the abaca industry and egg industry in the Philippines.
On April 15, Duterte signed Republic Act No. (RA) 1170 declaring the province of Catanduanes as the Abaca Capital of the Philippines.
According to the law, the state recognizes the significance of the abaca industry and its development as a driver of rural development not only because of its unique potential as a raw material that can significantly increase the country’s export earnings and put the country in the map of the world for producing the most abaca fiber, but also because it has provided livelihood to many small farmers in the countryside.
“In recognition of its status as the country’s biggest producer of abaca and making the Philippines world-renowned as “Manila Hemp” in the fiber industry, and in support to the agricultural development of the province, it is hereby declared that Catanduanes be the Abaca Capital of the Philippines,” the law read.
On Jan. 31, 2022, the RA 1170 was passed by the Senate as Senate Bill No. 1978 and adopted by the House of Representatives on Feb. 2, 2022 as an amendment to House Bill No. 6149.
The Philippines has long been regarded by the United Nations as the world’s leading producer of abaca, considered one of the strongest natural fibers in the world and touted to be the “future fiber”.
The Catanduanes province leads with the highest abaca production in the country–with 31.72 percent contribution to the country’s production in 2020; 33.74 percent in 2019; and 33.37 percent in 2018.
Catanduanes accounts for more than 80 percent of the Bicol region’s production with at least 21,500 hectares of land dedicated to abaca planting.
Egg basket of the Philippines
Duterte also signed RA 11707 on April 17 declaring the municipality of San Jose in the province of Batangas as the egg basket of the Philippines.
“The Municipality of San Jose in the province of Batangas is hereby declared as the ‘Egg Basket of the Philippines’ in recognition of the economic significance of its egg industry at both local and national levels,” the law read.
San Jose is a first-class municipality with the highest egg production of at least 70,000 tons of eggs a year.
The municipality contributed 12 percent to the country’s egg basket in 2019.
RA 11707 was passed by the Senate as SB 2044 on Jan. 31, 2022 and adopted by the House as an amendment to HB 7660 on Feb. 2, 2022.
On Tuesday, both laws were issued to reporters.
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