TO position bamboo as an industrial crop, the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) will sign a memorandum of agreement with the National Movement of Young Legislators Alumni Association (NMYLAA) for bamboo propagation in 1,500 towns nationwide.
The program will be fulfilling a plan for many years now via Executive Order 879 signed in May 2010 to position bamboo not only as a primary climate tool and plant species against natural and man-made disasters but as a crop for use as an industrial raw material.
“We are meeting this week with [Trade] Secretary [Alfredo] Pascual for this program to plant bamboo nationwide,” PBIDC Vice Chairman Deogracias Victor B. Savellano said in a statement.
Envisioned to be used for biofuel, food, and crafts, bamboo can be developed as raw material for architectural and construction purposes, “ultimately playing a large role in the economy by creating job opportunities,” PBIDC.
In promoting bamboo, NMYLAA’s mission of Filipinism is embraced and the innovations of national hero Jose Rizal in his exile in Dapitan, particularly on agriculture, infrastructure, education, and medicine are popularized. “We are adopting the Filipinism of Jose Rizal in Dapitan as we want to make our agriculture areas productive,” Savellano said.
PBIDC will be reaching out to the grassroots through bamboo production by tapping barangay leaders to carry out the task.
The program can avail of prevailing government programs to support bamboo propagation.
An existing order issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DAO 2021-43) grants incentives to the private sector, upland organizations, and other entities in forest protection through verified carbon certificates. It will provides a standardized guidance for the measurement of carbon projects. A registry for all forest carbon projects will be established.
The DAO’s Carbon Accounting, Verification, and Certification System (CAVCS) harmonizes with the principles of the Philippine National Standard (PNS), Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and Good Practice Guidance for Land Use. CAVCS projects will have a life of a minimum of 20 years to guarantee stability and long-term gain.
Image credits: Gregg Yan