Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program Act

June 17, 1967

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4967

AN ACT EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE ABACA AND OTHER FIBERS DEVELOPMENT BOARD, MAINTAINING ITS OWN FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program Act.

SECTION 2. It is hereby declared to be a national policy to rehabilitate and expand the abaca and other fibers industry of the country to maintain its world supremacy and the world demand for abaca and other Philippine fibers and their by-products, and to provide adequate measures to ensure permanent stability in the production and consumption of abaca and other fibers.

SECTION 3. The life of the Abaca and Other Fibers Development Board shall be deemed extended for a period of one year from the approval hereof.

SECTION 4. The Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program envisioned in this Act shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, through a Board composed of the Director of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Director of the Bureau of Fiber Inspection Service, Commissioner of the Agricultural Productivity Commission, one representative each of the three abaca-producing regions namely Bicol, Visayas, and Mindanao and the President of the Philippine Association of Abaca Producers and Exporters to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the approval of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines. Each member shall receive a per diem of fifty pesos per meeting actually attended. cdt

SECTION 5. The Program shall cover the following phases considered necessary to attain the primary objectives of bringing at least to pre-war level the production of abaca and other fibers, reducing their cost of production to compete successfully with other hard fibers in the world markets, achieving the desired level of abaca and other Philippine fiber exports, and finally, maintaining a well-balanced production and demand of abaca and other fibers:

1. Production and distribution of planting materials to be disposed of at nominal cost, for the rehabilitation of depleted plantations and expansion to newly-opened areas;

2. Improvement and operation of fiber extraction methods to reduce the cost of production and improve the quality of the fibers;

3. Development, establishment and promotion of new industries using abaca and other fibers as raw materials;

4. Abaca and other fibers scientific, agricultural, industrial and commercial research;

5. Abaca and other fibers local and foreign trade promotion; and

6. General administration.

SECTION 6. The balance of appropriations provided for in Republic Acts Numbered Three thousand forty-five and Four thousand seven hundred twenty-one, shall continue to be expended to carry out the provisions of this Act aside from its present appropriations in the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 7. Any amount earned in the operation of any of the projects under the Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program shall be credited to the name of the Program and constituted as a revolving fund to be used as determined through the resolution of the Board.

SECTION 8. The budget and the production plan for the year shall be prepared by the Administration and submitted to the Board for approval within thirty days before the end of the fiscal year.

SECTION 9. The Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program shall have an auditor who shall be assisted by his staff, to be appointed by the Auditor General. Salaries of and all other expenses in maintaining the Auditor's Office shall be paid by the Program.

SECTION 10. The Chairman-General Manager of the Abaca and Other Fibers Development Program shall submit a report through the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, to the President of the Philippines, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture of both chambers of Congress, on the operation of the Program, not later than thirty days after the end of the fiscal year.

SECTION 11. All laws or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

SECTION 12. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 17, 1967

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 65, No. 8, p. 1791 on February 24, 1969