THE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading several agriculture-related bills, including the extension of the agricultural competitiveness enhancement fund (ACEF) and the proposed New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
The lower chamber passed on third reading House Bill 6524 further extending the period of implementation of the ACEF until 2028.
The bill seeks to further extend the implementation period of the ACEF, which is set to expire in December 2022, to enable the Department of Agriculture to continue to use the funds for development activities of the farming sector.
It mandates the inclusion of duties collected from importation of agricultural products within the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism to be credited to ACEF under Special Account 183 in the General Fund of the National Treasury.
The bill also directs concerned government agencies to submit pertinent documents to the ACEF Executive Committee and the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM).
It requires the Commission on Audit to conduct a full audit and report on the status of ACEF grants and loans extended from 2016 to 2021.
House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairman Mark Enverga said the extension was strongly backed and recommended by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Neda suggested revisiting such proposed provision considering that the ACEF’s remaining balance is at P4.4 billion as of August 2022, Enverga said.
“We recommend that the ACEF executive committee improve the disbursement of the fund and justify the additional allocation requested from import our-quota collections,” said Enverga, quoting the Neda in a position paper.
Unpaid CARP debt
The House also approved on third and final reading a bill condoning the unpaid debt of farmer-beneficiaries of the government’s agrarian reform program.
Under House Bill 6336 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, to be condoned or written off are “unpaid amortizations, interest payments, surcharges, and penalties of existing loans” of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) secured under CARP or other agrarian reform programs or laws.
The Land Bank of the Philippines shall assume balances of unpaid obligations of ARBs to landowners.
The Department of Agrarian Reform shall issue a certificate of condonation to be annotated on the beneficiary’s emancipation patent (EP) or certificate of land ownership award (CLOA), which is the equivalent of a land title.
The condonation shall erase all mortgage liens on EPs and CLOAs in favor of the national government, as represented by Land Bank.
The bill provides that lands distributed to ARBs under the series of agrarian reform programs “shall not be sold, transferred, or conveyed except through hereditary succession, or to the government or to the Land Bank of the Philippines, or to other qualified beneficiaries through the DAR, for a period of 10 years from the issuance of the certificate of condonation or the CLOA.”
Such lands “shall not be subject to conversion or any form of mortgage and encumbrance for a period of 20 years from the issuance of the certificate of condonation or CLOA.”
Lands distributed to ARBs shall be exempt from estate tax. The exemption would apply only to transfers from the beneficiaries to their heirs. The bill provides that the landowner is entitled to just compensation for the land acquired under CARP.
Agri-smuggling
The House of Representatives also approved on final reading a bill seeking to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 to include large-scale agricultural smuggling of tobacco and other tobacco products as a crime of economic sabotage.
The House approved House Bill 3917 which amends Section 3 of the law which enumerates how the crime of large-scale agricultural smuggling is committed.
Under the amendment, the crime of economic sabotage through large-scale agricultural smuggling of tobacco, whether manufactured or unmanufactured, including finished products such as cigars, cigarettes or heated tobacco products, with a minimum excise tax and vat payable in the amount of P1 million, as valued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), is committed by importing into the Philippines without the required import permit from the regulatory agencies; using import permits of persons, natural or juridical, other than those specifically named in the permit; or using fake, fictitious or fraudulent import permits or shipping documents, among others.
The current law only penalizes large-scale smuggling of sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in its raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation or preservation for the market, with a minimum amount of P1 million or rice, with a minimum amount P10 million.
The proposed measure also penalizes the broker, agent, facilitator, forwarder, or warehouse lessor of the violating importer; and allows the use of a private port, fish port, fish landing site, resort, and/or airport to perpetuate the economic sabotage regardless of quantity.
The bill also amends Section 4 of the law by imposing the penalty of imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, and a fine of twice the fair value and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges avoided by the smuggling of tobacco, whether manufactured or unmanufactured, including finished products such as cigars, cigarettes or heated tobacco products.
These penalties may be imposed on the registered owner and its lessee or charterer of a chartered boat, truck, warehouse or president or chief executive officer of the private port, fish port, fish landing sites, resorts, who knowingly transport the tobacco product subject to economic sabotage. The offense is non-bailable.
Internet transactions
Also approved on third and final reading is a bill regulating internet transactions and protecting consumers as well as merchants.
House Bill 4, authored principally by Speaker Martin Romualdez, is titled, “An Act providing protection to consumers and merchants engaged in internet transactions, creating for the purpose the Electronic Commerce Bureau, and appropriating funds therefor.”
The bureau will be under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The proposed law is one of the priority legislative measures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The President has called for the enactment of a law establishing “effective regulation of commercial activities through the internet or electronic means to ensure that consumer rights and data privacy are protected, innovation is encouraged, fair advertising practices and competition are promoted, online transactions are secure, intellectual property rights are respected, and where product standards and safety are observed.”
The proposed law will apply to all internet transactions and to all domestic merchants and foreign entities doing online business in the Philippines.
It defines “internet transaction” as the “sale or purchase of goods or services, whether between businesses, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organizations, conducted over the internet.”
Open access
The lower house passed on third and final reading House Bill 6 that provides for open access and transparency in the growing data transmission industry.
The bill proposes to establish a strong and independent regulatory system and body to create an environment within the data transmission industry that is conducive to open, fair, and innovation-propelled competition, and shall encourage investments in the development of digital infrastructure of the country.
According to the bill, the digital divide in the country has to be narrowed “by encouraging the development of data transmission infrastructure and removing any barrier to competition in data transmission services.”
The state is mandated “to require data transmission service providers to adhere to telecommunications standards suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation and ensure that internet users enjoy the best quality of data transmission service.”
It includes the “provision of Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] services but does not include the provision of basic telephone service.”
The bill covers any person or entity whose business substantially involves the transmission of data, including internet service providers, VoIP service suppliers and data centers.
It would apply to telecommunications companies “with respect to the data transmission services they provide and the interconnection to their networks that they extend to data transmission industry participants.”
The bill provides that all segments of the data transmission sector “shall be competitive and open.”
It provides for administrative penalties ranging from P100,000 to P5 million for every day the violation continues for an industry participant who fails to follow minimum service standards set by the NTC.
If the participant commits a prohibited act, the imposable fine is P300,000 to P5 million for every day of violation.
Meanwhile, these bills will now be transmitted to the Senate for its own action.