October 23, 2025

 

Philippines: New law shifts FDA authority over livestock to specialised agencies 

 

 

The Philippine Department of Agriculture has established a technical working group to oversee the transfer of the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory authority on animal-related matters to the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Dairy Authority.

 

In the Special Order signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on October 10, but was made public only over the weekend, the move followed the passing of the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act (AIDCA).

 

The new law aims to modernise the DA's livestock, poultry, and dairy programmes by allocating  ₱200 billion (US$3.43 billion) over 10 years to support the government's goal of a food-secure and resilient agricultural economy.

 

An Animal Competitiveness Enhancement Fund will also be created, which will allocate  ₱20 billion (US$343.51 million) annually from tariff collections from livestock, poultry, and dairy. Of that amount, 26% will go to repopulation and herd build-up of hog, poultry, and other native animals.

 

The law also earmarked  ₱1.2 billion (US$20.61 million) for animal health promotion,  ₱1.8 billion (US$30.91 million) for recovery from biosecurity threats, and ₱7 billion (US$120.23 million) to modernise post-harvest infrastructure such as slaughterhouses and cold storage facilities.

 

Currently, among functions handled by the FDA to be transferred to the BAI and the NDA include the facilitation of animal vaccines as well as the issuance of related certificates of product registrations.

 

DA said that AIDCA also elevated the BAI's classification as a line agency of the DA, expanding its regulatory oversight.

 

The law also strengthened the Philippine Carabao Centre (PCC) and the ND by assigning them expanded mandates, including in biotechnology and vaccine development.

 

The law will also help in developing local capacity to create vaccines and response protocols for major animal health threats such as African swine fever, Newcastle disease, and avian influenza, which will reduce dependence on foreign supplies while also improving national biosecurity.

 

The Special Order detailed that the TWG will do the necessary preparatory and technical groundwork apart from the conduct of coordination meetings related to the transition, as well as the identification of policy and technical issues that need deliberation.

 

The document also mentioned that the TWG will be chaired by Dante Palabrica, DA undersecretary for livestock, with members composed of other officials of the DA, BAI and NDA.

 

-      Malaya