
On November 26, 2021, Agriculture Secretary William Dar signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma to establish the country’s first CEFA at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).
The facility will strengthen the country’s food safety regulatory system to protect consumer health. As a first border facility, the CEFA located at a 2,000-square meter property of the SBMA, will be used to thoroughly inspect imported containerized agri-fishery commodities.
It will also house examination areas and laboratories intended for the execution of the quarantine and inspection protocols of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). (Photo by Adones Buhayan, DA-AFID)