THE Davao City government has declared the Davao Food Terminal Complex (DFTC) in Daliao, Toril as the official wholesale facility for fruits and vegetables in the city.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 42, Series of 2022, adopting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Ordinance No. 0823-21, Series of 2021.
EO 42, issued on September 15, 2022, states that “the City of Davao recognizes the significant role of the Davao Food Terminal Complex (DFTC) as a facility where fruits and vegetables from producers and suppliers are unloaded and sold on a wholesale basis.”
According to the IRR, it is promulgated to prescribe the procedures and guidelines for the implementation of the ordinance declaring the DFTC as the official wholesale facility for fruits and vegetables to facilitate compliance and achieve its objectives.
As the official wholesale or “bagsakan” facility, the DFTC is declared as an establishment where buyers and sellers meet for the exchange of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables in large quantities or volumes. It shall be managed and maintained by the City Government of Davao through the CAgrO and the CEE.
Among its approved regulations include that all vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables within Davao City and from outlying provinces should unload and load farm products at the DFTC. A one-year transition period will be observed and shall commence 60 days after the IRR’s approval. During that period, vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables from neighboring provinces will load and unload farm produce at the Davao Food Terminal Complex.
But vehicles with fruits and vegetables from within Davao City are still allowed to unload and load farm products in Bankerohan, Agdao, Calinan, Matina Crossing, Piapi, Buhangin, Toril, Sasa, and Tibungco public markets.
However, after the one-year transition period, the loading and unloading of any kind of fruits and vegetables, whether from Davao City or neighboring cities and provinces, will have to be done at the DFTC.
“Those with existing fruit and vegetable supply or marketing contracts with wholesalers/distributors, food manufacturers, chain of supermarkets, and other institutions such as but not limited to hotels, restaurants, hospitals, etc. should submit a copy of the said contract to DFTC and shall pay the appropriate fees mandated by law,” Rule 5.2 of the IRR states.
All vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables are exempted from the truck ban mandated by the Davao City Traffic Code with a certification issued by the Department of Agriculture RFO 11 for vehicles coming outside Davao City and the CAgrO for those vehicles within Davao City. They will have to apply for exemption at the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) and pay a corresponding annual permit of P5,000 per vehicle at the City Treasurer’s Office.
Without an exemption permit, the driver, operator, or owner of a truck shall be penalized according to Appendix V of Ordinance No. 0334-12 Series of 2012 – An Ordinance for the Comprehensive Transport and Traffic Code of Davao City.
DFTC trading operator haulers will pick up fruits and vegetables from Davao City. “The CAgrO may devise a system to assist in the transporting of the fruits and vegetables coming from Davao City pick-up points with their available vehicles,” according to Rule 5.4.
DFTC’s trading activities shall be handled by a duly accredited qualified primary agriculture cooperative and/or federation of agriculture cooperatives operating within Davao City. If no federation of agriculture cooperatives is qualified to handle them, the private sector may be invited to participate by way of a bidding process or through Public Private Partnership (PPP). And if no farmer cooperative or private entity shall qualify, the CEE shall manage the trading operations.
Open market trading or auction will be the mode of trading.
All agri-products from the farmers’ area should already be cleaned, washed, classified, and packed in biodegradable clear plastic bags, crates, or large mesh bamboo baskets (“bukag”). Packaging using biodegradable clear plastic shall be at 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 kilos per bag. Sacks shall not be allowed as packaging material for all commodities.
The washing/cleaning of root vegetables and root crops will be allowed provided this is done in the washing area only, and that due payment of the prescribed rates and charges as provided in Ordinance No. 0706-19 Series of 2019 is given.
The DFTC Trading Operator and the CTTMO with the respective barangay councils will determine the exact locations of the pick-up points (PUPs) in Marilog, Paquibato, Toril, and Calinan in coordination with the farmers’ group in the area. The vegetables and fruits may be delivered either at the designated PUPs or directly to the DFTC.
Meanwhile, the CAgrO shall set the mechanisms to determine the buying and selling prices, taking into consideration the farm gate price, wholesale price, retail price, cost of production, and seasonality of the product.
The guidelines also said that representatives from the CAgrO, specifically from the Agribusiness Section and from the Municipal Agriculture Office, shall regularly monitor activities at the PUPs to ensure that regulations are followed, especially on the quality of products and the existing buying rates; food safety regulations based on the Philippine National Standard on the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fruits and Vegetables shall be implemented for the primary production and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to the DFTC.
In addition, traders and wholesalers will not be allowed to unload their fruits in Bankerohan, Agdao, Calinan, Mintal, Matina Crossing, Piapi, Buhangin, Toril, Sasa, Tibungco, and all existing and future public and private markets unless there are existing supply or marketing contracts; the CEE shall assign personnel in existing public and private markets to ensure that no vehicles will enter and unload fruits and vegetables therein unless they are provided with vehicle passes; and the fees collected by DFTC based on Ordinance No. 0706-19 Series of 2019 – An Ordinance Prescribing the Rates and charges to be Imposed at the Davao Food Terminal Complex, will be placed in the General Fund which may be used for the maintenance of the DFTC building, machinery, equipment, and other facilities. RGL