Speaker Romualdez, Tingog Reps. Yedda, Acidre file HB No. 7077 for establishment of SAGZ in PH

TINGOG party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday filed a bill providing for the creation, operation, administration and coordination of Special Agricultural Growth Zones (SAGZ) in the Philippines.

They filed House Bill (HB) No. 7077 for the establishment and operation of of SAGZ in the country.

“Agriculture is always an issue of scale, economies of scale. We need to start looking at the sector holistically and as an economy,” Acidre, a Deputy Majority Leader, said.

According to Tingog, the proposed law aims to establish the legal framework and mechanism for the administration and management of SAGZ while assisting in the preservation of natural resources and biodiversity.

The party-list group said the creation of SAGZ will create a flow of both foreign and local investors that in turn will generate employment opportunities, as well as establish linkages among industries and around agricultural growth zones.

However, Reps. Yedda Romualdez, chairperson of House committee on accounts, and Acidre clarified that HB 7077 is not a panacea to the pervading problems in the agricultural sector.

Rather, they said it is the primary step toward the right direction that is beneficial to the farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole.

Tingog said the measure is seen to establish financial and industrial cooperation between the Philippines and industrialized countries through technology-intensive industries.

According to the group, it will modernize the country’s agricultural sector and make sustainable agriculture technology accessible.

The bill is currently pending deliberation at the House committee on government enterprises and provatization.