Thursday, June 15, 2006
Ban on abaca cultivation to be lifted soon
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to revoke the prohibition on the harvesting and selling of abaca anytime now.
The promise was made by Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) Inc. Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. to exporters and representatives of government in the Bicol region during the recently concluded localization conference in the implementation of the export development plan of 2005-2007.
Ortiz-Luis told the Bicolanos that Arroyo decided to repeal Executive Order (EO) 502 banning the harvest of abaca when she presided over the Export Development Council (EDC) last week of May.
The EDC executive board has drafted a repealing EO and sent the same for signature to the palace. It may just be a matter of days or weeks when it is signed.
He said the ban was slipped for signature by the President purportedly to stop the spread of a disease infecting abaca plants that was detected in some towns of Leyte last year.
"Disease control, not a total ban, would have made a more responsible solution to abaca infestation. A total ban is one, simple, lazy solution. It is also a killer solution. If allowed to continue, the ban is bound to kill an industry that predated the coming of the Spaniards", the export leader said.
"No farmer, in his right mind, will plant and cultivate something he can neither harvest, sell or eat", he said.
Called in the English language as Manila hemp, abaca was traditionally used in making ropes used by sea vessels and in the modern world, was made as the most durable material in the manufacture of paper money pioneered by Japan in making the yen.
In the Philippines, it is used as raw material by the furniture, home décor, footwear, and Christmas décor industries.
"One manufacturer in Pampanga, the home province of President Arroyo, that uses abaca fiber as a major raw material, has lost over P300 million in undelivered orders from its foreign buyers since the ban was imposed," Ortiz-Luis told the Bicol exporters and suppliers. (Philexport News and Features/Sunnex)
(June 15, 2006 issue)
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