The bill was approved by the House Committee on Appropriations with amendments as to the sources of the funds intended for the development of the sugarcane industry, he said.

Last year, the bill had also been approved by the House committees on Ways and Means, and Appropriations, Benitez said.

It will now be brought to the plenary for approval on second reading and in about three days later, for third and final reading, he added.

Benitez said he expects his bill to be approved in the Lower House within the month and is following up the passage of its counterpart bill now pending before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, headed by Senator Francis Pangilinan.

The counterpart sugarcane act bill was filed in the Senate by Senator Francis Escudero, who last week, also said he is pushing for its passage in the Upper House before Congress adjourns on February 9.

Benitez said he is not giving up hope that the counterpart bill will be passed in the Senate as long as there are remaining session days in Congress.

Sugar Regulatory Administrator Ma. Regina Bautista Martin is also meeting with Pangilinan to discuss the push for the passage of the bill.

The amendments to the Benitez bill are the inclusion of the sugarcane industry as one of the industries eligible for conversion into Special Economic Zones, based on the guidelines provided by Republic Act 7916, or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.

It also allows for the designation and establishment of nuclear farms/agro-industrial districts for the sugarcane industry to be entitled to the existing fiscal incentives under Book VI of Executive Order No. 226, or the Omnibus Investments Code of 2987, as well as sections 4-7 of R.A. 10000 (the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009), promoting, among others, block/corporate farming to achieve economies of scale, it added.

The amendments also state that the Sugar Fund will be constituted out of the existing funds and appropriations for the agriculture and fisheries modernization.

It cites the use of a portion of the Agricultural Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund for the infrastructure support projects of the sugarcane industry, such as farm-to-mill roads and irrigation, product development, and research and development projects, to include farm, sugar, bioethanol, power generation, and farm/mill support industries subsectors.

The amendments also state that the Department of Agriculture shall provide allocations to the sugarcane industry and all its subsectors from its annual General Appropriations for the Agriculture Sector, or Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, and prioritize the programs/projects of the sugarcane industry in its annual expenditure prioritization plan for 10 successive fiscal years (FY 2014-FY 2023).

The bill also states that sugar-producing local government units should allocate a portion of their Incremental R-VAT-IRA for the infrastructure and R, D and E projects of the sugarcane industry to include all its subsectors.

The amendments also state that the SRA should formulate a 10-year Sugarcane Industry Development Program that shall be reviewed and updated annually, in consultation with the major stakeholders of the sugarcane industry and its subsectors, which shall serve as basis for the program/project proposals that shall be submitted for funding.*CPG

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