PH to host Forbes Asia Forum, CEO meet in ‘d24: Malacañang PBBM urged to certify PH bamboo industry development bill ‘urgent’

Bamboo industry stakeholders on Thursday appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent the Senate version of the proposed “Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Act” following the passage of its counterpart, House Bill 7941, at the House of Representatives earlier this week.

In an interview, Rene “Butch” Madarang, executive director of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC), said the enactment of a legal framework for the bamboo sector cannot be understated in view of the growing international market for high-value products made from engineered bamboo.

He recalled that a bamboo industry measure has been previously passed by the House, only to fizzle out at the Senate.

Madarang expressed optimism that this time, with the President’s prodding, senators will waste no time in approving their version of the proposed law.

The official lamented that the bamboo sector has been so neglected by past administra- tions that “the PBIDC has been operating on a zero budget.”

Philippines will host the Forbes Asia Forum and the Forbes Global CEO Conference in late 2024 as the country aims to attract more investors, Malacañang said on Friday.

“We (the PBIDC) manage to get by (with no funding) because our officers are mostly ranking Cabinet men, so they are able to find the resources to ensure that we can have periodic meetings, and remain operational somehow,” he said.

The PBIDC is an agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Madarang pointed out that on Tuesday, Florida-based bamboo grower and processor Rizome announced a USD100 million (PHP5.5 billion) investment in Cagayan de Oro.

The multi-billion peso investment will finance the cultivation of bamboo over a huge swath of land, which when harvested will be processed into engineered bamboo at the company’s factory in the province.

Former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr., a global investor at Rizome Philippines through subsidiary Bamboo Ecologic Export Corp. (BEEP), said that the company is bringing in cutting-edge, proprietary technology in bamboo wood

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos approved these proposals during his meeting with the senior executives of Forbes Media LCC in the Palace on Thursday.

“I hope that we can feature that in this conference and we can show the Philippines as it is now, as opposed to perhaps some of the ideas that people have had almost for a while,” said Marcos.

The Forbes Asia Forum brings together a fresh generation of business leaders to watch out for. It will be held later this year in Singapore and would feature Forbes Asia’s Best Under a Billion and Forbes Asia’s 100 to Watch.

The conference, on the other hand, “convenes global CEOs, tycoons, entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders to discuss key issues of international concern and build new partnerships, highlighting a fireside chat between a senior Forbes editor and a host country’s leader,” based on the statement.

Marcos said the Philippines is on a “charm offensive” as the country needs to compete with fast-growing economies in the region such as Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Japan.