Policy and purpose of control
- The Act establishes official commercial grades and standards for abaca, maguey, sisal, and other fibers covered by its rules.
- The Act requires permits, regulated grading stations, and official inspection to ensure uniform quality for fibers intended for export.
Key definitions established
- “Fiber” means the raw material only, not fibers partially or entirely manufactured (Section 1(a)).
- “Abaca” means the fiber known technically as Musa textilis and commercially as “manila hemp,” “manila,” and “hemp.” (Section 1(b)).
- “Maguey” (cantala) means the fiber known technically as Agave cantala Roxb. and commercially as “maguey,” “manila maguey,” and “Philippine maguey.” (Section 1(c)).
- “Sisal” means the fiber of the true sisal plant Agave sisalana Per. and locally known as “maguey de Hawaii.” (Section 1(d)).
- “Strand” means several fibers twisted together by hand for tying bundles or hanks (Section 1(e)).
- “String” means a handmade rope or strand of abaca, maguey, or sisal used for tying several bundles or hanks together (Section 1(f)).
- “Tow” means broken fiber or fine fibers interwoven so they break wholly or in part during carding at the mill (Section 1(g)).
- “Waste” means broken fiber or partially cleaned fiber strips that fall under the knife or machine during fiber extraction (Section 1(h)).
- “Grading station” means a city or town designated by the Director of Agriculture as a place where grading and baling of abaca, maguey, or sisal may be practiced; it may contain one or more grading establishments (Section 1(i)).
- “Grading establishment” means a building or group of buildings at a grading station where grading, baling, and preparation for export of abaca, maguey, and sisal fibers are authorized; the owner may be an individual, association, or corporation (Section 1(j)).
Standards, official grades, and marks
- The Director of Agriculture must establish, define, and designate standards for the commercial grades of abaca, maguey, and sisal, which become the official standards of classification throughout the Philippine Islands (Section 2(a)).
- The Director must prepare official standards for each grade and furnish them upon request to authorized users, charging the actual cost of such specimens paid in advance by the requesting party (Section 2(b)).
- The designation and mark of each grade, and the basis for determining each grade, must be defined and published in a Bureau of Agriculture General Order not less than six months prior to the Act’s effectivity (Section 2(c)).
- The Director must furnish sufficient copies of the General Order and subsequent issuances to foreign markets, municipal presidents, provincial governors, and other persons/corporations deemed advisable for guidance (Section 2(c)).
- The Director must stipulate how official standards are to be kept and define the expiration period for renewal (Section 2(d)).
- A grading establishment may prepare or renew a set of official standards for its own use if it is an exact copy of the official set and is approved and certified by the Director or an authorized agent (Section 2(e)).
- The Director must establish one or several standards for abaca partially cleaned or prepared as tow, waste, or strings if required by the market (Section 2(f)).
- The Director must also establish standards for the fiber of any species of Musa other than abaca when there is market demand, with designation and definition in the General Order referenced in Section 2(c) (Section 2(f)).
Grading stations, permits, and establishment classes
- The Director must organize grading offices in ports of export six months prior to the Act’s effectivity for grading abaca, maguey, sisal, and other fibers; identical offices must be organized elsewhere in the Archipelago when requested by a party concerned (Section 3(a)).
- No person, association, or corporation may engage in grading abaca, maguey, or sisal without a grading permit signed by the Director of Agriculture (Section 3(b)).
- Grading establishments are classified into six classes based on quality of loose fiber graded and quantity baled per annum (Section 3(c)):
- First-class: 5,000 metric tons and above
- Second-class: between 2,500 and 5,000 metric tons
- Third-class: between 2,000 and 2,500 metric tons
- Fourth-class: between 1,000 and 2,000 metric tons
- Fifth-class: between 500 and 1,000 metric tons
- Sixth-class: less than 500 metric tons
- Grading permits must be furnished to establishments whose owners prove necessary qualifications to the Director and pay an annual fee in advance, as follows (Section 3(d)):
- First-class: PHP 1,000
- Second-class: PHP 500
- Third-class: PHP 250
- Fourth-class: PHP 100
- Fifth-class: PHP 50
- Sixth-class: PHP 25
- Classification for existing establishments is based on quantity graded and baled during the year previous to the year for which the permit is desired (Section 3(d)).
- For a new establishment, classification is made at the end of the first year, and it pays the fee corresponding to that year (Section 3(d)).
- For export grading, each prepared grade must correspond to one official standard and must bear the same designation and mark as that official standard; the set of official standards must be placed prominently in the grading shed for reference (Section 3(e)).
Private brands and cancellation procedure
- A grading establishment that also marks an exporter of the fiber may use private marks/brands connected to the name of the official standard if the marks are previously registered with the Director of Agriculture and authorized for use (Section 4(a)).
- Private marks/brands must constantly refer to the same official standard or a specified type of that standard (Section 4(a)).
- Application forms for registering private marks are obtainable free of charge from the Director of Agriculture (Section 4(a)).
- The Director may cancel a grading establishment’s brand(s) after giving one month’s notice in writing when it is proved the marks have not been constant or their use has led to mistakes or confusion (Section 4(b)).
- Cancellation takes effect immediately, while allowing appeal to the Secretary of Public Instruction; if the Secretary decides adversely to the Director, the canceled brand(s) must be restored (Section 4(b)).
Baling dimensions, labeling, cleanliness, and fees
- Fibers intended for export must be pressed in bales of approximately these dimensions and weight (Section 5(a)):
- Length: 1 meter
- Width: 50 centimeters
- Height: 55 centimeters
- Net weight: 125 kilos
- Where excessive pressure may injure a grade of abaca, bale dimensions and weight must be determined by a General Order issued by the Director of Agriculture (Section 5(a)).
- The limit of the diameter of each hank in the bale of abaca, the arrangement of hanks in the bale, and the manner of labeling and tying each entire bale must be designated by fiber inspectors (Section 5(b)).
- Every hank in a bale must be uniform in quality, securely tied by a strand, and identical with the fiber that constitutes the bale (Section 5(c)).
- Every bale must be free from strings, waste, tow, damaged fiber, fiber not identical with that which constitutes the bale, and any extraneous matter; the fiber must be thoroughly dry (Section 5(d)).
- No authorized grading establishment may charge a fee exceeding PHP 8 per metric ton for baling and grading any fiber included in the Act (Section 5(e)).
Fiber inspection system and certificates
- The Director of Agriculture must organize a special subdivision called the “fiber inspection subdivision,” subsidiary to the fiber division of the Bureau of Agriculture, to supervise grading and baling and enforce compliance (Section 6(a)).
- The chief of the fiber division is the chief fiber inspector and must receive additional compensation (in addition to salary) not to exceed PHP 2,000 per annum (Section 6(b)).
- The fiber inspection subdivision consists of fiber inspectors, stationed at each export port and at other grading stations as the Director deems necessary upon request of parties (Section 6(c)).
- Fiber inspectors must perform periodic inspection of all grading establishments within their jurisdiction, inspect graded and baled fibers intended for export, collect inspection fees, and issue “certificates of inspection” showing (Section 6(c)):
- Total number of bales inspected for each shipper/owner
- Number of bales by grade and mark (if any)
- Other additional data stipulated by the Director of Agriculture
- Inspectors must also perform educational work among fiber producers, instructing them how to prepare product to meet Act requirements and understand fiber grade/grades and current prices (Section 6(d)).
- Fiber inspectors must receive compensation not to exceed PHP 4,000 per annum (Section 6(e)).
- Only persons with at least 4 years of experience in classification of abaca and other fibers or who have acquired sufficient agricultural instruction may be appointed fiber inspectors (Section 6(e)).
- The Director (or authorized agent) must maintain an office at grading stations corresponding to the number of ports of export for abaca and other fibers and at other stations as necessary upon request; inspectors must be stationed there and equipped to inspect efficiently (Section 6(f)).
- Official-standard fiber must be graded, baled, inspected, and approved under the Act’s process (Section 6(g)).
- A grading establishment must give the fiber inspector written notice, when practicable, stating the number of bales ready for inspection, and when practicable, the steamer name and destination (Section 6(h)).
- Inspections must be conducted in the regular grading shed by opening 1 bale out of every 20, and opening additional bales as the inspector deems necessary (Section 6(i)).
- When a shipment has been graded and baled but not inspected, inspection must occur at the place designated by the inspector, and the owner must provide transportation of bales to and from the inspection location (Section 6(i)).
- The inspection’s purpose is to determine whether the grade conforms to the official standard, whether any private mark used is correct, and whether baling and labeling conform to Act requirements and authorized Director instructions (Section 6(i)).
- Fiber inspectors must have free access to grading and baling sheds and to warehouses where bales are stored during working hours to verify propriety of methods, and must ensure the approved official standards set is preserved and renewed within the specified period (Section 6(j)).
- Every inspected and approved shipment must be accompanied by certificates of inspection attached to the bill of lading and duly signed by the inspector who inspected the shipment (Section 6(k)).
- Certificates of grading must be prepared in quadruplicate: original and one copy to the owner, one copy to be forwarded to the Director of Agriculture, and one copy to be filed in the inspector’s office (Section 6(k)).
- When a lot is transferred from one owner to another, the certificate of inspection must accompany the lot and transfer of ownership must be noted by the fiber inspector where transfer occurs; a new “secondary certificate of inspection” may be issued by the local fiber inspector upon purchaser request (Section 6(l)).
- Fiber already inspected, graded, baled, and shipped from one port to another within the Philippines must not undergo further inspection at the destination port except upon a written complaint received by the chief fiber inspector, conditioned on transit bales not being exposed to moisture or other agencies likely to impair quality (Section 6(m)).
- A fee of 10 centavos per bale must be charged and collected by the appropriate fiber inspector for each bale inspected and stamped, whether approved or rejected; the owner pays and receives a receipt (Section 6(n)).
- Purchasers who buy inspected fiber for manufacture in the Philippines into yarn, twine, rope, or other articles must be refunded the inspection fee if they present the Director of Agriculture with the certificate of inspection covering bales consumed and an affidavit that the number of bales was actually consumed in manufacture within the islands (Section 6(o)).
Prohibited acts, criminal penalties, and administrative cancellation
- No person may change, obliterate, or counterfeit, wholly or in part, or cause the changing, obliteration, or counterfeiting of any official or private mark/brand on any bale inspected, graded, and stamped under the Act (Section 7(a)).
- No person may use any tag or mark not in accordance with Act provisions or authorized orders of the Director of Agriculture (Section 7(a)).
- No person may tamper with or alter the quantity or quality of any bale inspected, graded, and stamped under the Act (Section 7(a)).
- Any person, association, or corporation violating any provision of the Act is punishable upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction by a fine of not more than PHP 250 (Section 7(b)).
- Upon conviction for a violation, the Director of Agriculture may withdraw and cancel the grading permit previously issued to the convicted person/association/corporation (Section 7(c)).
Approval of Director actions
- All acts of the Director of Agriculture authorized by the Act must be previously submitted to the Secretary of Public Instruction for approval (Section 8).