Whereas, Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Order (AO) No. 15, series of 2007 provides for the revised schedule of fees and charges for services rendered by the National Meat Inspection Service relative to the accreditation of foreign meat establishments including meat importers, traders, and brokers or handlers of imported meat and meat products;

Whereas, DA AO No. 15, series of 2007 provides that all expenses to be incurred by the DA Inspection Mission under Administrative Order No. 16, series of 2006 shall be shouldered by the foreign meat establishment to be inspected, evaluated or audited;

Whereas, such aforementioned provision of DA AO No. 15, series of 2007 has accordingly amended paragraph 1, Section IX of DA AO No. 16, series of 2006, or the Pre-Border Measures for the Export of Meat and Meat Products to the Philippines, which provides that the inspection and audit expenses shall be shared by the DA and the applicant country and/or individual FME applicant;

Whereas, standard international practice prescribes sharing of expenses related to costs to be incurred in the conduct of foreign on-site inspections or audits, where the international travel costs are borne by the inspecting country and the domestic costs in the country seeking accreditation are borne by the applicant country;

Whereas, in observance of the international commitments of the Philippines particularly in relation to trade, there is a need to streamline, harmonize and strengthen various rules and regulations to enhance transparency and consistency with international standards in order to facilitate the consistent implementation of our accreditation procedures;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARTHUR C. YAP, Secretary of Agriculture, do hereby order that the provisions of DA AO 16, series of 2006, particularly Section III, shall apply in the audit and inspection expenses of countries and/or foreign meat establishments seeking accreditation as follows:

SYSTEM ACCREDITATION:

Where the applicant country applies for a system accreditation, the inspection and audit expenses shall be shared by the DA and the applicant country following standard international practice of international travel costs being borne by the DA and domestic costs within the applicants country being borne by applicant country.

INDIVIDUAL ESTABLISHMENT ACCREDITATION:

Where the applicant country applies for individual establishment accreditation, the foreign meat establishment to be inspected, evaluated or audited shall shoulder all expenses to be incurred in the conduct of the inspection and audit.

All orders and issuances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with this Order are deemed revoked or amended accordingly.

This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Adopted: 5 June 2009

(SGD.) ATTY. ARTHUR C. YAP
Secretary

Recommending Approval

(SGD.) ATTY. JANE C. BACAYO
Executive Director
National Meat Inspection Service

(SGD.) DR. D AVINIO P. C A TBAGAN
Director Bureau of Animal Industry