QUEZON CITY - On April 30, 2021, the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards of the Department of Agriculture (DA-BAFS) and the Philippine Accreditation Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-PAB) had a virtual meeting to continue its partnership on accreditation of organic certifying bodies (OCB) by updating the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in light of the signing of RA 11511 or the Act Amending the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. DA-BAFS is recognized as the competent authority on organic agriculture while the DTI-PAB is the national accreditation body.
The meeting was attended by Assistant Director´s Mary Grace Mandigma (DA-BAFS) and Ernani Dionisio (DTI-PAB) together with personnel from DA-BAFS (Vera Ysabel de la Cruz and Vicente Limsan, Jr.) and from DTI-PAB (Ma. Juanita Carpio, Estrella Pilipino-Abejero, Amor Lahoz, Japhet Celis, and Sheena de la Torre).
For six years, DA-BAFS and DTI-PAB have partnered to harmonize the accreditation processes for OCBs. With the passage of the Republic Act (RA) 11511, both agencies deemed it necessary to continue and solidify the collaboration by updating the existing MOU. The new MOU will not only include updates that are relevant to the amendment of the Organic Agriculture Act but will also include provisions towards a more sustainable partnership. The draft MOU will be internally consulted prior to its finalization and signing. ####