Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 9496)
The main purpose of Republic Act No. 9496 is to extend the utilization period of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) created under Republic Act No. 8178, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Philippine agriculture sector by providing support services, funding, and protection against unfair trade practices.
The ACEF consists of all duties collected from the importation of agricultural products under the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism, including unused balances and collections from repayments of loan beneficiaries including interests, if any.
The ACEF shall continue to be set aside up to the year 2015, after which the collection of duties from the MAV mechanism and setting aside of amounts for the fund shall terminate.
Any remaining balances at the date of expiration shall not revert to the General Fund but shall continue to be used for the purposes for which it was collected and set aside.
The ACEF is earmarked for: (a) protection of farmers against unfair trade practices like smuggling and dumping, (b) increasing productivity of farmers through support services such as irrigation, farm-to-market roads, credit, and research and development, and (c) providing funding for agricultural and fisheries education through scholarships.
Seventy percent (70%) is allocated for agri-production, post-production, processing, infrastructure, and public information/promotion; twenty percent (20%) is for research and development, including commercialization and upgrading of facilities; and ten percent (10%) is dedicated to a comprehensive scholarship program for agriculture and related fields.
Local government units, state universities and colleges, or other government institutions involved in agricultural research and development may avail of the ACEF funds as financial grants without collateral or security.
COCAFM is tasked to conduct periodic reviews of the use of the ACEF to ensure it is properly utilized and aligned with the objectives of the fund.
The fund releases from the ACEF shall not be subject to any ceiling imposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), promoting ease in fund availability and utilization.
Priority is given to individual Filipino farmers and fisherfolk, cooperatives, micro, small and medium scale enterprises engaged in agricultural production, farming, fisheries, agri-business, and related activities, especially those adversely affected by the repeal or removal of quantitative import restrictions.
The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with COCAFM, must revise and reform implementing guidelines and approval procedures to speed up processing and disbursement and coordinate with the Philippine Information Agency for wide dissemination of information about the Act.
Congress earmarked the ACEF to protect farmers against unfair trade practices, increase productivity through support services, and provide assistance such as credit, research, infrastructure, marketing, retraining, and funding to promote agricultural competitiveness.
This Act amends Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8178 to extend the ACEF utilization period and modifies provisions regarding the use, disbursement, and administration of the fund, thereby updating and supplementing the original law.
Republic Act No. 9496 took effect immediately upon its approval on February 28, 2008.
All laws, decrees, executive issuances, rules, and regulations inconsistent with this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.