Republic Act No. 3045

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1

This Act shall be known as the Abaca Development Program Act.

Section 2

It is hereby declared to be the national policy to rehabilitate and expand the abaca industry of the country to maintain the world supremacy and the world demand for abaca fiber and to provide adequate measures to insure permanent stability in the production of abaca.

Section 3

The Abaca Development Program envisioned in this Act shall be under the administrative supervision and control of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, through a Board composed of the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Extension, the Director of the  Bureau of Plant Industry, the Manager of the Fiber Inspection Service, three representatives of the three abaca-producing regions and one representative of the Philippine Abaca Federation, Inc., and shall cover the following phases considered necessary to attain the primary objective to bring to at least the pre-war level the production of abaca fiber, popularly known as Manila hemp, and to reduce the cost of production in order to compete successfully with sisal, henequene and synthetic fibers; and finally, to achieve the desired level of Philippine export of abaca to the world market, as follows:

1.Abaca seed production and distribution to rehabilitate the present depleted abaca plantations;

2.Improvement of fiber extraction methods;

3.Development, and promotion of cottage industries using abaca as raw material;

4.Abaca research;

5.Abaca foreign trade promotion, and

6.General administration.

The Board shall elect its chairman.

Section 4

There shall be appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of twenty million pesos to be disbursed four million pesos every, fiscal year from 1961-1962 up to 1965-66 for the purpose of this Act.

Section 5

Subject to adjustments that the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may deem necessary, upon recommendation of the Chairman of the Board, or as may be specified in the annual General Appropriation Act, the financing of the five-year Abaca Development Program shall be implemented and shall follow the following yearly schedule:

1. For planting materials	₱900,000.00
2. Improvement of fiber extraction methods	800,000.00
3. Development and promotion of cottage industries using abaca as raw materials	800,000.00
4. Abaca research	800,000.00
5. Abaca Foreign Trade Promotion	200,000.00
6. General Administration	500,000.00
Total	₱4,000,000.00

Section 6

The budget together with the production plan for each year of the Abaca Development Program shall be prepared by the Chairman of the Board who shall submit the same through the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to the President for approval. All balances at the close of each fiscal year shall be carried over for expenditure in the succeeding fiscal years.

Section 7

This Abaca Development Program shall automatically be integrated in the yearly General Appropriation Act of the Republic of the Philippines under the Bureau of Plant Industry until the completion of its fifth year operation and thereafter in order to insure its continuity.

Section 8

The Chairman of the Board shall render a yearly report through the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to the President of the Philippines, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on the operation of the Program.

Section 9

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 17, 1961.