PAA unites with PRB Agriculture and PRC to champion the Philippine Agriculturist Bill

The Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc. (PAA) through Dr. Roberto F. Rañola, Jr., PAA Chairperson, and Dr. Karen S. Bautista, PAA National President, met with House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation Chairperson and Bohol 3rd District Representative Kristine Alexie Besas-Tutor on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 to discuss the revised Philippine Agriculturist Bill (PA Bill) which has been filed as House Bill No. 9725. With them were Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Commissioner Erwin M. Enad, Professional Regulatory Board (PRB) of Agriculture Chairperson Emma K. Sales, Dr. Annabelle Sarabia, and Dr. Eric Palacpac.

𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋. Despite the licensing of agriculturists in the country, the agriculture profession does not have a particular enabling law or charter unlike other professions regulated by the PRC. Instead, the agriculture profession remains to operate under a mere administrative issuance in its professionalization.

Hence, HB No. 9725 was filed as “An act regulating the practice of the agriculture profession in the Philippines, creating for the purpose of a professional regulatory board for agriculturists, and appropriating funds therefore.”

Under the proposed Bill, the Professional Regulatory Board of Agriculture shall oversee the examination, registration, and licensing of agriculture practitioners. As such, in order to pass the exam, the candidate must obtain a rating of seventy-five percent (75%) or above in all fields of agriculture including Crop Science, Animal Science, Soil Science, Crop Protection, Agricultural Economics/ Agribusiness/ Agri-entrepreneurship, and Agricultural Extension and Communication with no rating below fifty percent (50%) in any of the subject areas mentioned.

The Board shall also permit the candidate to retake the exam in the subject area where he failed to obtain a rating of fifty percent (50%) or above, provided that the examinee obtained an average rating of seventy-five percent (75%) or better. The examinee shall retake the exam on the subject that he failed only once immediately in the proceeding Licensure Examination for Agriculturists, or he shall be subjected to undergo a refresher course equivalent to 36 units if he fails the exam thrice.

Moreover, the 𝐏𝐀 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. This covers all agriculture technical positions which require the professional expertise of a Registered Agriculturist as deemed necessary by the Board. Because of the technical requirements to fill such positions, it was further recommended that the minimum base pay of Registered Agriculturists working in the government, including State Colleges and Universities (SUCs), shall not be lower than Salary Grade 13.

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋. Consultative meetings were carried out on August 17 and on September 4, 2023 with PRC Commissioner Enad; PRB Agriculture Chair Sales; PRB Agriculture Members (Gonzalo O. Catam, Jr., Dr. Nora B. Inciong, Vicente L. Domingo, Dr. Palacpac, and Dr. Sarabia); PAA representatives (Dr. Rañola, Dr. Bautista, and Ramon Oliveros); and a legal team to review the draft of the PA Bill.

In the light of transparency and accountability, the draft of the proposed PA Bill was circulated to other Professional Regulatory Boards from October to November 2023 to examine if there are conflicts of interest in the proposal. Other PRC Boards did not raise any objection.

On December 12, 2023, PA Bill was filed as HB No. 9725 with Cong. Besas-Tutor, Chair of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation. HB No. 9725 is now headed for House Committee Review with Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., and for Senate Committee Review with Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri by early next year.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) also pledged commitment to drafting a complementary bill that would amend the Local Government Code to require the hiring of City/Municipal Agriculturists in the Local Government Unit.

The Bill’s filing is considered as one of PAA’s accomplishments in its undertaking to contribute to the improvement and mainstreaming of policies, rules and regulations, and legislative orders to significantly improve the agriculture profession and the agriculture sector in the country. It is also a serious reiteration of the previous initiatives of PAA to advance agriculture as a profession through legislation.

The year is drawing to an end, and it is indeed a promising one for the Philippine agriculture profession. With this development, PAA is committed to follow-up with the Bill, advocate for the filing of a parallel bill in the Senate, and eventually be enacted into law.