Congress Offlp Lplippines: Republic NF TLJR I - Ilippinrs
Congress Offlp Lplippines: Republic NF TLJR I - Ilippinrs
Congress Offlp Lplippines: Republic NF TLJR I - Ilippinrs
S. No. 1318
II. No. 6878
Congress offlp^lplippines
(Mgfrn (Manila
jkigljhmidlj Emigres s
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Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventh
day of July, two thousand twenty.
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| REPUBLIC ACT NO. 115111
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AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10068 OR THE ORGANIC
AGRICULTURE ACT OF 2010
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x x x;
(r) Organic soil amendments refer to all the products within the
scope of the Philippine national standard, i.e. organic fertilizers,
compost/soil conditioner, microbial inoculants, and organic plant
supplements that are added to the soil to improve its physical properties.
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(i) One (1) representative from the NGOs involved in organic agriculture
for at least three (3) years;
(j) One (1) representative from agricultural colleges and universities;
(k) One (1) representative from the private sector in the organic value
chain;
(l) One (1) representative from the national association of PGS groups, to
be chosen from among and by themselves: Provided, That the representative is a
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smalb farmer;
(m) One (1) representative from a national organization of local
government units (LGUs) actually engaged in organic agriculture; and
(n) One (1) qualified representative from the indigenous organic farmers.
x x x.
SEC. 5. Section 8 is hereby amended, to read as follows:
“SEC. 8. Organization of the NOAB. -
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The Chairperson shall call the members of the NOAB, or a majority thereof
if not all have been designated, to a meeting to organize themselves and prescribe
its rides and procedures for the attainment of the objectives of this Act. A majority
of all the members of the NOAB shall constitute a quorum. The NOAB shall meet
at least once every quarter after its constitution.
SEC. 6. Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 10068 are hereby repealed and a
new Section 10 is hereby inserted, to read as follows:
“SEC. 10. National Organic Agriculture Program - National Program
Coordinating Office (NOAP-NPCO). - To manage the effective
implementation of the National Organic Agriculture Program, the Department
of Agriculture (DA), Office of the Secretary, shall be strengthened and
empowered in terms of establishing a functional office, to be known as the
National Organic Agriculture Program - National Program Coordinating
Office (NOAP-NPCO). It shall serve as the planning and administrative
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secretariat of the NOAB, and as the coordinating office of the Program.”
SEC. 8. A new Section 12 is hereby inserted after the new Section 11, to read as
follows:
“SEC. 12. Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS). — The
BAFS of the DA shall be restructured, strengthened and empowered to support the
objectives of this Act. It shall provide technical assistance to the NOAB and the
NOAP—NPCO. The BAFS, in addition to its existing functions and
responsibilities, shall perform the following functions, duties and responsibilities
for purposes of this Act:
(a) Basic Principles. The PGS shall be the mechanism by which small
farmers/fisherfolk, their farms/associations/cooperatives shall be certified as
engaged in organic agriculture and as producers of organic agriculture products.
The participatory organic certification from a government agency or OCBs,
organized in accordance with this Act, shall be promoted and accepted. The
products certified through the PGS shall be traded only in the domestic market,
unless covered by an international certification or a mutual recognition agreement.
An association or group under the PGS shall adhere to the PNS for organic
agriculture.
Further, associations or groups under the PGS shall adopt the following
features and characteristics:
(iii) Existence of principle's and values that enhance the livelihoods and
well-being of farming families and promote organic agriculture;
(b) Legal Personality. The core PGS group shall be registered with the
municipality/city where the PGS group is predominantly located. It shall secure a
mayor’s permit from said municipality/city, possession of which shall suffice as
proof of registration and the grant of legal personality, which however shall be
limited only to PGS transactions.
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The national organization of LGUs actually engaged in organic agriculture
shall also secure a legal personality for purposes of accreditation by the BAFS.
Any other OCB shall secure a mayor’s permit from the municipality/city
where it intends to operate and possession of which shall suffice to grant them
legal personality for purposes of accreditation by the BAFS.
(c) Certification. The BAFS shall provide the guidelines for the
certification of farms, pursuant to the provisions of this Act.
(d) Accreditation. The BAFS shall provide the guidelines for accreditation.
A registered core PGS group shall apply for accreditation with the BAFS. A
core PGS group shall be accorded accreditation by the BAFS only if it has at least
five (5) members, coming from different farms within the municipality/city or
within the province, certified and actually'practicing organic agriculture. The
BAFS shall extend technical and financial support to a core PGS group in its
application for accreditation.
For purposes of this section, the BAFS is hereby authorized to certify five
(5) individual farms as a core PGS group: Provided, That once such core PGS
group is accredited to certify, it can subsequently certify as organic agriculture
compliant other core PGS groups: Provided, further. That the authorization to
certify shall be deemed revoked when the core membership becomes less than five
(5) or i
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any of the minimum five (5) member farms becomes noncompliant to organic
agriculture standards.
The BAFS shall issue its decision on the application for accreditation by a
core PGS group or any qualified entity applying for accreditation within sixty (60)
days from the submission of the complete requirements. Failure to render decision
within such period shall be deemed an approval of the application for
accreditation as an OCB. The BAFS shall not charge any application fee.
(1) The Core PGS Group. Every core PGS group should have at least five
(5) members, composed of farmers from a combination of both the crops and
livestock sectors. It may add to its membership farmers from other sectors in
agriculture, NGOs, people’s organizations, buyers of organic agriculture products,
suppliers of organic inputs, among others, who all live or operate within the
province and regularly interact with the concerned PGS group.
Each core PGS group shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(ii) Ensure that compliant farmer members continue to comply with all the
requirements of the applicable PNS for organic agriculture and relevant
regulatory requirements;
(iii) Maintain a registry of core PGS groups operating within its area of
jurisdiction, which shall be forwarded to the BAFS on year-end for the latter’s
national database;
(iv) Together with the OCB involved in the inspection and certification
activity, -and in coordination with the BAFS, issue participatory organic
certificate and the “PGS guaranteed organic” label/mark to compliant small
farmer/fisherfolk and/or their farm/association/cooperative; and
(3) Provincial and National PGS group. It shall be the option of the PGS
groups to form their aggrupation at the provincial and national levels. They shall
receive the financial and technical assistance, support and guidance of the
departments in the NOAB and the DA-BAFS in this regard. The provincial
governments shall encourage and support the formation and activities of these
PGS groups in the different provinces, cities and municipalities within their
jurisdiction.
(f) Promotion. The NOAB shall actively promote, search and recognize
associations or groups that have been practicing organic agriculture through the
PGS, in accordance with this Act. The NOAB shall ensure that each province in
the country has a PGS group. Every PGS group shall conduct trainings and
promote organic agriculture.
SEC. 12. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 10068 is hereby amended and
renumbered, to read as follows:
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SEC. 16. Section 19 of Republic Act No. 10068 is hereby repealed and a
new section is inserted, to read as follows:
SEC. 18. Section 25 of Republic Act No. 10068 is hereby amended and
renumbered, to read as follows:
, “SEC. 27. Penal Provisions and Other Penalties. - Any person who
willfully and deliberately:
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SEC. 20. Section 27 of Republic Act No. 40068 is hereby amended and
renumbered as Section 28, to read as follows:
SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,
presidential proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or
inconsistent with this’Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
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SEC. 24. Effectively.. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
following its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation
or in the Official Gazette.
Approved,
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1318 and House
Bill No. 6878 was passed by the Senate of the Philippines on October 13,
2020 and the House of Representatives in a special session on October 16,
2020.
Cy
JOCEIflA BIGHANI C. Sfl’IN MYRA MARIE D. VlLLARICA
Secretary General Secretary. of the Senate
House of Representatives
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
PRRD 2016 - 016237