APRIL 13, 2015

NR # 3800B

Solon wants tree-cutting regulated to sustain fuel wood

needs of tobacco industry
A Northern Luzon lawmaker is seeking the creation of an Ilocos Forest
Management Council (IFMC) that shall promote and regulate the planting and cutting of
trees in the four Virginia tobacco-producing provinces in the country to ensure the
continuous supply of fuel wood for the flue-curing activities of the tobacco industry.
Rep. Eric D. Singson (2nd District, Ilocos Sur) said admittedly, the Virginia tobacco
industry has its share in the unabated denudation of the countrys forests and destruction
of its trees.
This is because the Virginia tobacco industry depends on trees and forest resources
for the fuel inputs for flue-curing barns for Virginia tobacco leaves, said Singson, founder
of Northern Alliance, a group of House members from northern Luzon.
On the other hand, Singson said the Virginia tobacco industry is vital to be cursed
and phased out as millions of people depend on it for livelihood and it constitutes a major
source of government revenues.
My proposal seeks to offer a solution to the problem. It proposes the creation of a
body, the Ilocos Forest Management Council (IFMC), whose objective is to promote and
regulate the planting and cutting of trees not only to prevent the unabated denudation of
our forests and destruction of our trees, but also to ensure the continuous supply of fuel
wood for the flue-curing activities of the tobacco industry, said Singson, a vice chairman
of the House Committees on Appropriation and on Public Information.
He said the IFMC should be mandated to sustain the growth of the Virginia tobacco
industry while at the same time ample protection is afforded to the countrys forests and
trees.
According to tobacco-related articles, flue curing of tobacco leaf is a process by
which heat is introduced into a barn via pipes or flues from an exterior furnace connected
to the central heating system. The temperature of the furnace is gradually raised until the
leaves and stems are completely dried. This controlled heat allows the leaves to turn
yellow/orange.
House Bill 5505 filed by Singson states it is the public policy to protect the
countrys trees from destruction caused by the unregulated use of fuel wood in the fluecuring process of the Virginia tobacco leaf.

Pursuant to this, the bill provides for the creation of the Ilocos Forest Management
Council (IFMC) to protect the forests and ensure the continuous supply of fuel wood for
the flue curing of Virginia tobacco.
The IFMC shall cover the four Virginia tobacco-producing provinces namely, Ilocos
Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra and La union. It shall maintain its principal office in Candon City,
Ilocos Sur, but it may have branch offices in other places as necessary for the proper
conduct of its business.
The proposal, now pending at the Special Committee on North Luzon Growth
Quadrangle chaired by Rep. Maximo B. Dalog (Lone District, Mountain Province),
provides the IFMC shall be under the supervision of the Office of the President and all its
policies, programs, and transactions, among others shall be approved by the President of
the Philippines.
The measure provides the IFMC shall be composed of the following: National
Tobacco Administrator as chairman; Regional Director of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) as vice chairman; and governors and congressional
representatives of the tobacco-producing provinces as members.
The IFMC shall formulate a comprehensive plan, in coordination with the local
government, to designate a viable area in each municipality for planting fast-growing trees
like Ipil-ipil, the bill provides.
Moreover, the IFMC shall formulate and finance a massive planting or reforestation
of designated areas and regulate the subsequent cutting of grown trees for fuel wood
needed in the flue curing of Virginia tobacco leaves.
It shall also adopt a system of replanting trees in designated areas and collect a
reasonable amount to be fixed based on the needs of each tobacco farmer using the fuel
wood.
The measure provides that the amount of P50 million shall be appropriated for the
initial operating expenses of the IFMC out of any fund in the National Treasury not
otherwise appropriated. Thereafter, such amount as maybe necessary for the continued
IFMC operation shall be included in the General Appropriation Act (GAA). This amount
shall be used exclusively for the development of designated reforestation areas.
The IFMC auditing department shall be headed by the duly appointed representative
of the Commission on Audit (COA) whose salary shall be determined and paid according
to law. All personnel of the auditing department shall be appointed and their number and
salary fixed by the COA, the bill provides. (30) rbb