More developed bamboo industry pushed
A NEOPHYTE solon is
pushing for the devel--
opment of the banboo
industry so it could
provide additional live-
lihood opportunities
for the Filipinos.
In filing House Bill
3309, HouseDeputy Ma-
jority Leader Las Pifras
City Rep. camille Villar
stressed the need to max-
imize bamboo's full po-
tential for higher pro-
dr!.fion and a more di-
versified use in the Phil-
ippines.
According tovillai, a
stalwart of the Naciona-
lista Party (NP)' thePhil-
ippines has an edge in
design and craftsman-
ship and the local bam-
boo sector canbe devel-
oped furtherby shength-
ening government's ef-
forts in encouraging plan-
tation, researchon its de-
velopment and utiliza-
tion.
The Philippine Bam-
boo lndustry Develop-
ment Act of 2019 seeks
to institutionalize the
bamboo industry devel-
opmentthrough the cre-
ation of the Bamboo In-
dustrv Research and De-
veloimenl Center
(BIRDC) o.r €enter tasked
to continuously provide
relevant technologies and
new products to the
bamboo industry.
BIRDC or Center will
abo serve as the secretar-
iat of the Philippine Bam-
boo lndushy Develop-
mentCouncil (PBIDC) or
Council to be created un-
der the Department of
Trade and Industry
(DTi), which shall pro-
vide the overall policy
and program dtections
and coordinate the activ-
ities of various agencies
and instrumentalities to
ensure *re implement4-
tig4, qccomplishme4t,
and periodic review and
enhancement of thebam-
boo industry roadmap,
Upon approval of the
measure into law, the Of-
fice of the Presidmt (OP)
through Philippine
Amusemmt andGaming
Corporation (PAGCOR)
shall allocate P100 mil-
lion as initial fimding for
theTrustFrmd for the im-
plementation of this Act.
Villar said the main
challenge in developing
the bamboo industrv is
to address the lacli of
lands where bamboo spe-
cies can grolar' tg eusute
enoughsupply... . :
"There are about
8,500 hectares devoted
to Bamboo cultivation,
with four economically
viable species - the
Kawavan Tinik, Giant
Bamb6o, Buho, and Boto.
Accordint to the DTI,
while 8,500 hectares is a
sicnif icant number, tie
hrige demand for bam-
boo requires mole cover-
age," Villar explained as
she acknowledged that
the Philippine tovem-
ment has been suppott-
ive of the production and
developmentofbamboo
in the country in fecent
yearq,
" ,esier Manala3la3
oaae
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