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Pursuant to Executive Order No. 292 (1987), Section 5, Act No. 3639 (Animal Quarantine Act of 1929), Presidential Decree No. 1433, also known as “Plant Quarantine Decree of 1978”, and DA-Administrative  Order no. 09 Series of 2010 and consistent with the Terrestrial Code of the Office International des Epizooties or  Word  Organization  for  Animal  Health  (OIE),  the  following  guidelines  are hereby issued for strict compliance by all:

Chapter 1 -Preliminary Provision

Section 1. Definition  of terms and phrases - For purposes of this Order, the terms and phrases hereunder listed shall be understood to mean, as follows:

1. Acarapis woodi - known as tracheal mites because they infest the tracheal system of bees
   
   
2. Accredited  microbiologist  -  a  person  who  has  passed  the  examination given by the Philippine Academy of Microbiologist and has conducted and published papers on bee pathology
   
   
3. Aethina tumida - small hive beetle infesting populations of the honey bee - Apis mellifera and Apis cerana and bumble bee, Bombus terrestris colonies. It also infests tropical fruits.
   
   
4. Africanized  honey  bee  - a hybrid  strain  of Apis  meliifera  introduced  into Brazil in the mid - 1950 and distinguished by aggressive traits such as the tendency to mass swarm and sting with great frequency.
   
   
5. American foulbrood (AFB) - is disease of a larval and pupal stages of the honey bee Apis meliifera and other Apis spp., caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
   
   
6. Animal - refers to vertebrate and invertebrate  species whether domestic or wild (exotic or indigenous) animals which maybe food producing, companion, aquatic, laboratory including birds, worms, bees and butterflies. The term excludes human and no-mammalian aquatic species
   
   
7. Apiary - a bee yard, or a place where beehives are kept
   
   
8. Apiculture - the art and science of raising bees
   
   
9. Approved  -  means  officially  approved,  accredited  or  registered  by  the Bureau of Animal Industry
   
   
10. Backyard  / hobbyist  beekeeper  -  one  who  keeps  bees  for  pleasure  or below 200 colonies occasional income
    
    
11. Bumble bee - any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae
    
    
12. Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) - by virtue of Act 3639, BAI was created as  the  country’s  competent  authority  to investigate,  study,  and  report  the cause of dangerous communicable animal diseases and the means and prevention,  and  in  general  to  promote  the  development  in  the  livestock industry. It is also tasked to determine the disease status of livestock of the exporting country.
    
    
13. Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  (BPI)  -specifically  National  Plant  Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD), by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1433, promulgating the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978, thereby revising and consolidating  existing  plant  quarantine  laws  to further  improve  and strengthen the Plant Quarantine Service of the Bureau of Pant Industry.
    
    
14. Bee  pathologist/  microbiologist  -  refers  to  a  licensed  pathologist/ microbiologist concerned with diagnosis of bee diseases and identification of causal pathogens
    
    
15. Beekeeper - a person who keeps bees
    
    
16. Brood - refers to the embryo or egg, larva, and the pupa of the bees present in the comb
    
    
17.  Carrier  -  includes  any  sort  or  craft  or  other  artificial  contrivance  used, capable of being used has means of transportation in land, water or air
    
    
18. Chalk brood - a fungal disease of bees caused by Ascosphaera spp.
    
    
19. Colony  -  an  aggregate  of  several  thousand  worker  bees,  drones  and  a queen bee living together in a hive or in any other dwelling as one social unit
    
    
20. Comb - is the beeswax structure of the cells where the queen bee lays eggs and the workers deposit honey and pollen. It is part of the beehive where a new brood is raised by the colony.
    
    
21. Colony Collapsed Disorder (CCD) - a recently described multi-factored phenomenon leading to global extensive losses of bee colonies
    
    
22. Commercial  beekeeper  - one  who  operates  sufficiently  large  number  of colonies  (at least 200 colonies  of Apis mellifera)  so that his entire  time is devoted to beekeeping
    
    
23. Competent authority - the BAI is the agency mandated by law, having responsibility  and  competence  for  ensuring  and  supervising  the implementation   of  Sanitary  and  Phytosanitary  (SPS)  measures  or  other standard codes.
    
    
24. Disease - means the clinical and/or pathological  manifestation  of infections such as American Foul Brood, European Foul Brood and Chalk Brood
    
    
25. Disinfection  -a process of cleansing beekeeping  tools and associated equipment  and  facility  to  destroy  infectious  and  parasitic  agents  of  bee diseases either with the use of chemicals or irradiation
    
    
26. Entomologist  -  a  person  specializing  in  the  study  of  insects  and  their relatives
    
    
27. Escort bees - bees that accompanies the queen bee in the cage, nurse bee
    
    
28. European foul brood - a disease of the larval and pupal stages of the honey bee  Apis  melifera  and  other  Apis  spp.  caused  by  the  non-sporulating bacterium Mellisococcus pluton
    
    
29. Hive – a man-constructed home for bees
    
    
30. Mites - are parasites of larvae, pupae, and adult bees
    
    
31. Nucleus  Colony  -  or  nuc,  is  essentially  a  smaller  hive,  sometimes  in  a smaller box, consisting of bees in all stages of development, as well as food, a laying queen and enough workers to cover from three to five combs.
    
    
32. National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division (NVQSD) - is a division of BAI mandated to prevent and control the entry of dangerous and communicable animal diseases into the country, and govern the transport/shipment  of animals, animal products/ by-products, meat and meat products/ by-products, and all other products of animal origin for agricultural or industrial use.
    
    
33. Nosema - is an adult honey bee disease caused by microsporidian,  single- celled   protozoan   Nosema   spp.   Spores   develop   exclusively   within   the epithelial cells of the ventricular of the adult honey bee. It affects thousands of colonies, resulting to less production of honey.
    
    
34. Office  International   des  Epizooties/   World  Organization   for  Animal Health   (OIE)   -   is   the   intergovernmental   organization   responsible   for improving   animal   health   worldwide.   It   is   recognized   as   a   reference organization  by the Word Trade Organization  (WTO) and for the year 2017 had a total of 181 Member Countries, including the Philippines.
    
    
35. Potential pest - shall compromise certain species of animal that are liable to become  agricultural  crop  pest  such  as  insects,  monkeys,  rodents,  bats, finches,  rabbits,  snails  and  other  forms  of  animal  life  capable  of  causing injury to agricultural crops
    
    
36. Quality  - totality  of characteristics  of an entity  that  bears  on its ability  to satisfy stated and implied needs (ISO 8402)
    
    
37. Quarantine  site - a laboratory  or bee yard where imported  bees are kept while under post-quarantine entry inspection.
    
    
38. Queen - sexually developed female bee.
    
    
39. Queen   bee  importer   -  refers   to  a  Bureau   of  Animal   Industry   (BAI) recognized institutional or individual who brings into the country queen bees
    
    
40. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) - document issued prior to importation  by the BAI to ensure that the products  being imported meet standards to protect human, animal or plant life or health, ensuring that the agricultural and fishery products are safe for consumers  and to prevent the spread of pests or diseases  among animals or plants. Such document also prescribes the conditions to be complied with by the importer for the maintenance   of  quality  and  suitability   of  the  product   for  the  intended purpose.
    
    
41. Tobacco ring spot virus (TRSV) - a plant pathogenic virus which can also infect and replicate itself in honey bees
    
    
42. Tropilaelaps   spp.  -a  mite  parasite  of  honey  bee  Apis  mellifera,  Apis breviligula and Apis dorsata
    
    
43. Varroa spp. - a mite parasite of honey bee Apis mellifera and Apis cerana
    
    
44. Worker bees - sexually undeveloped female bees
    
    
45. Zone/region  -  means  a  clearly  defined  part  of  a  territory  containing  an animal subpopulation with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease  for which  required  surveillance,  control  and  biosecurity  measures have been applied for the purpose of international trade.
    
    
46. Veterinary  health  certificate  - veterinary  health  certificate  issued  by  the Government Veterinary Authority of the exporting country.

Section 2. Importation of queen bees - the importation of queen bees may be allowed only upon verification that they are free from maladies of quarantine significance in accordance with this Order.

Section 3.  Registration   of  commercial   beekeepers   and   apiaries   -  all commercial beekeepers/apiaries  shall be registered with the BAI by providing the following information:

1.    Name, address, and description of the apiary
2.    Letter of intent addressed to the BAI Director
3.    Mayor’s Business Permit (certified true copy)
4.    DTI or SEC Registration (certified true copy), when applicable
5.    BIR- TIN (certified true copy)

Section   4.  Accreditation   as  Importer   -  All  commercial   beekeepers   and hobbyists who intended to import queen and escort bees are required to apply for accreditation with BAI by submitting the following requirements:

1. Certificate of Registration issued by BAI in accordance with this Order;

2. Certification  from the BAI stating that the applicant's  bee yard, equipment, and     quarantine    area    have    been    inspected    by   a   duly   authorized representative of BAI immediately after receipt of his application for accreditation.

Section 5. Application  for SPSIC for queen bee - Any person who intends to import or bring into the country live queen shall file an application to import with the BAI through the DA Trade System. The DA Trade System is the back-office application  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  developed,  deployed  and maintained  by  InterCommerce,   for  the  processing  of  DA  TradeTransactions, initially,  the  SPSIC  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  the  Bureau  of Fisheries   and  Aquatic   Resources   and  the  Bureau   of  Plant  Industry.   The application for SPSIC is accomplished online.

Section 6. Issuance of SPSIC - BAI, upon approval of the DA Secretary, shall issue the SPS Import Clearance only upon determination that the importation complies with this Order.

Section  7. Confiscation  and  Destruction  - Imported  bees  without  SPSIC  is subject for confiscation and destruction, at the expense of the importer.

Section 8. SPSIC may be revoked if the importer violates any of the terms and conditions embodied herein and if the importer had given false or incomplete information relative to the importation.


Section 9. Port Procedures - Pre-entry Conditions

1. Only Apis mellifera queen and escort bees are allowed to be imported.
   
   
2. Importers  shall present  to the Quarantine  Office the corresponding  SPSIC and international veterinary certificate issued for the shipment (transfer to Section 10).
   
   
3. Queen  bees  should  not be imported  from  countries  zone/region  with  viral diseases and countries zone/ region with known Africanized honey bees.
   
   
4. Brood  combs,  nucleus  colonies  and  packaged  bees  are  not  allowed  for importation.
   
   
5. The shipment must be accompanied by a veterinary health certificate issued by the Government  Veterinary  Authority  (GVA).  The imported  queen  bees and escort bees should be free from mites (Acarapis spp., Varroa spp. and Tropilaelaps spp. and small hive beetles (Aethina tumida)) and pathogens causing  American  foul  brood,  European  foul  brood,  chalk  brood,  Nosema and sacbrood.
   
   
6. The  shipment  must  also  be  accompanied  by  a  Phytosanitary  Certificate certifying  free from pollen-carrying  plant pathogens  and Tobacco  Ringspot Virus (TRSV).
   
   
7. The breeding apiary of origin is officially approved and controlled by the GVA of the country zone/region responsible for the application of the sanitary measures.
   
   
8. The packing material and accompanying  products  shall come directly from the exporting  breeding  apiary and have not been in contact  with diseased bees or brood combs nor with any products or equipment which are contaminated or extraneous to the exporting apiary.
   
   
9. The port of entry shall be the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) only, unless  other international  airports  will be equipped  and qualified  to accept queen and escort bee importation.
   
   
10. Exporter should use plastic queen cages during shipment.

Section 10. Condition on Arrival of Port of Entry

1. Immediately  upon  arrival  of the  shipment,  the  imported  products  shall  be turned over to the Competent Authority assigned at the port of entry for sampling.
   
   
2. Importers  shall present to the Quarantine  Office the corresponding  SPSIC, international veterinary certificate and phytosanitary certificate issued for the shipment. Consignments without the required documents shall be subject for confiscation and destruction, returned to origin or shipped to a third country.
   
   
3. The collected sample escort bees from every queen cage shall be subjected for analysis by Competent Authority.
   
   
4. The importer shall provide pertinent documents during inspection and escort bees and all queen cage will also be collected for laboratory analyses.

Section 11. Post Entry Conditions

1. Collecting  one  sample  escort  bees  in  every  queen  cage  and  submit  for analysis at NVQSD. After appropriate samples were collected, the shipment will be released immediately to the importer provided that they agree to BAIs quarantine importation terms and conditions.
   
   
2. BAI-AHWD   and   NARTDI   monitoring   team   shall   assess/evaluate    the performance of the imported queens 1 week after the dispersal.
   
   
3. The result of the analysis shall be released within 3 to 7 days from arrival.Results will be spread in a period of 9 weeks per thousand samples.
   
   
4. If  pathogens  and  pests  are  detected,  the  importer  will  be  notified  of  the findings within  5 calendar days and the whole of queen and escort bees will be destroyed at the expense of the importing parties. No compensation shall be paid for any bees destroyed.

Section 12. Sanction - Any person who found, after notice and hearing, to have given  false  or incomplete  information  relative  to the  importation  of live  honey bees  or is found  to be  in violation  of this  Order  shall  result  in the  automatic revocation  of  the  importer’s  SPSIC.  Any  importation  made  without,  or  with  a revoked SPSIC shall be confiscated and destroyed.

Section  13.  All  existing  administrative  orders,  rules,  and  regulations  or  parts thereof,  which  are  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Order  are  hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 14. This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and the filling of three (3) certified copies thereof with the National Administrative Register, U.P. Law Center.

Recommending Approval:	Noted by:
(SGD) RONNIE D. DOMINGO, DVM, MSc	(SGD) ENRICO P. GARZON, JR. DVM
OIC, Director, BAI	Assistant Secretary for Livestock
(SGD) GEORGE Y. CULASTE	(SGD) Atty. HANSEL O. DIDULO
OIC-Director, BPI	Assistant Secretary for Regulations
Approved by: (SGD) EMMANUEL F. PINOL Secretary