Enverga panel OKs major measures on 2nd reading

by Dong delos Reyes August 8, 2021 Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga,  the House of Representatives committee on agriculture LU...

by Dong delos Reyes
August 8, 2021

Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, the House of Representatives committee on agriculture

LUCENA CITY - It has not occurred to taxpayers who pay for the salaries of the humblest worker to the highest government official that laws crafted on their behalf neither generates nor saves money-- every measure, proposed or enacted, merely cobbles another agency, another layer of bureaucracy that uses taxpayer money for some envisioned goal rarely attained.

An enterprising Filipino started up a firm that plied innovations on bamboo as viable building material, why, bamboo's tensile strength is stronger than steel but needs thorough treatment to ward off attacks by powderpost beetles (bukbok), termites, rot and must be made fire resistant. The innovations made use of high-pressure steaming that allowed the material to be flattened into sheets, bundled into semblance of timber. In short, bamboo took on the appearance of huge boards that can be used as load-bearing wall material, or enduring posts on which shelter frames are built.



It would have been a sustainable venture with a steady supply of bamboos whose peak of toughness, the so-called taga sa panahon stage, is a mere two years-- and even coco lumber or the pricier timber peaks at 40 years!

The start-up failed. Nobody was buying the produce that could have been a game changer in the housing industry, a material that can slash down housing costs and afford homeless families affordable shelter. For lack of support, the outfit went kaput.



Comes now House Bill 9576, stressing importance of promoting and developing the Philippine bamboo industry to make it more competitive in foreign markets and enable it to a major revenue and employment generator.

The measure eyes setting up a Philippine Bamboo Industry Council (PBIC), to be tasked to provide the overall policy and program directions of the bamboo industry, and coordinate the activities of government bodies to ensure the success of the industry.



Apart from the PBIC, a Bamboo Industry Research and Development Center (BIRDC) will be created and serve as the secretariat of the Council to be headed by an Executive Director.

The PBIC will formulate the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Program (PBIDP), to map out strategies and projects for scientific propagation, development and commercialization of Philippine bamboo and bamboo products that will be competitive in the local and global markets.

The proposed law also provides incentives to investors in plantation development and bamboo processing factories.

OK'd on 2nd reading

Just before ECQ break, the House of Representatives committee on agriculture and food headed by Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga had approved on second reading H.B. 9575 which seeks to set up the young farmers and fisherfolk challenge program, with a view to creating a council for that purpose-- and appropriating funds for that.

Also approved on second reading is H.B. 8109 which declares Ilocos Norte as the "garlic capital of the Philippines"

Too, the Enverga-led panel approved on second reading a proposed measure H.B. 9490 for development of the tikog industry. Tikog' is a special reed grass which grows in swampy areas along ricefields and has solid, jointless, and usually triangular stems used in weaving of mats, bags, and similar handicrafts. The House bill seeks to set up the Tikog Research and Development Center, establish a mat (banig) subsidy fund and declare Basey town in Samar as "Mat Capital of the Philippines."

H.B. 9576 which aeeks to bolster the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council was also approved on second reading. The bill seeks to create the Bamboo Industry Research and Development Center, sets aside funds for its operation, and provides incentives for bamboo plantation development.

Approved on 3rd and final reading was H.B. 9438 which renews for another 25 years the franchise granted to Lukban Telephone System, Inc. The franchise tasks the utility firm to construct, install, maintain, establish, and operate local exchange network in Lukban, Quezon.