Board pushes for use of bamboo in Misamis Oriental

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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A MEMBER of the Provincial Board (PB) is encouraging his constituents in Misamis Oriental to promote the use of bamboo products.

Board Member Jimmy Caiña authored a resolution urging the provincial and municipal agriculture offices within Misamis Oriental to consider the promotion of the so-called "bamboo revolution project" of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIC).

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Caiña said the project provides alternative livelihood, controls soil erosion and the spread of carbon dioxide, and will enable the country to get a bigger slice of the $8 billion global market demand for the material.

"Misamis Oriental is a coastal province and is considerably surrounded with rivers, which are the favorite and natural habitat of bamboos. But presently, due to lack of information dissemination and support by concerned government agencies, the optimum value of bamboo remains unknown to the local people," Caiña said.

He said the resolution is purposely made to promote the bamboo industry of the country.

Executive Order 879 was issued last May 2010, creating the PBIC.

Caiña emphasized that if the people of Misamis Oriental will have the heart to plant bamboos, it will save the ecosystem and provide extra income.

"Scientists said bamboos are eco-friendly since they are best in preventing soil erosion and controlling the spread of carbon dioxide," he said.

Caiña said that a substantial portion of the order directs the use of bamboo for at least 25 percent of desks and other furniture requirements of public elementary and secondary schools, and prioritizing the use of bamboo in furniture and other construction requirements of government agencies.

Reports show that in 2009 alone, the Department of Education (DepEd) bought about P1 billion worth of desks.

Caiña said the Department of Trade and Industry is also exploring the possibility exporting bamboo products to Japan and in other Asean countries.

Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on July 20, 2011.