Following the kick-off of the National Livestock and Poultry Week, a party-list lawmaker on Tuesday renewed her call for the swift passage of the bill amending the 64-year-old Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act of 1956.
AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin said her House Bill 3602 seeks to amend Republic Act 1556, or the Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act of 1956 to bolster the livestock and poultry feeds industry in the Philippines by updating many of the outdated definitions, policies, and penalties found in the original law.
“Our country’s livestock programs should go hand in hand with an organized and regulated feeds industry, both supported by the government,” Garin added.
“We must acknowledge that the success of the pig and poultry industries of the Philippines is also dependent on the feeds industry of the country,” the lawmaker said.
According to Garin, the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the competition in liberalized trading policies call for a better and new law that is more in tune with the demands of the present time.
To address the gaps of the antiquated law, the proposed measure seeks to extend the regulation of the country’s exported feeds for both terrestrial and aquatic animals.
The bill also prescribes that each type, brand, and kind of feed and feed ingredient shall follow the labeling requirement set by Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Act (RA 7394) and Food Safety Act (RA 10611).
Garin added the bill shall improve the licensing and registration process to be supervised by the BAI and ensure quality control over commercial and non-commercial feeds.
“A better licensing and registration process to ensure the quality of all feeds whether for commercial or non-commercial use is established, together with stricter labeling requirements, and the penalties and remedies for complaints are all tasked to the Department of Agriculture’s BAI for administration and regulation of this proposed law, working hand-in-hand with the proposed Animal Feed Control Advisory Committee,” she added.
To spur the spirit of accountability, the bill mandates the creation of the Animal Feed Control Advisory Committee, to be chaired by the Chief of Animal Feeds, Veterinary Drugs and Biologics Control Division of BAI.
The committee shall be in charge of conducting studies, evaluation, and formal investigation and make recommendations on policy and technical matters expected to arise from the implementation of the act.
The bill is currently pending before a technical working group.