Now that the Philippine Biofuels Bill has been passed, I’d expect to see all those Ethanol Investors jump in and start setting up their Distilleries. One of the main issues will be where to get the feed stock for the Distillery.
If you were to use corn, you would most likely go to the top producing regions of corn in the Philipppines. Which are Region X(Northern Mindanao) and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN)
Both regions are found in the island of Mindanao. Mindanao is known as the food basket of the Philippines, because of its rich volcanic soil conducive for crops, as well as the fact that it is an area which doesn’t experience any hurricanes.
If you were to go into sugarcane however, expect to go no farther than Region VI (Western Visayas.) Since time immemorial the Western Visayas has been the Sugarcane producing capital of the Philippines. A lot of the rich businessmen who hold vast fortunes in the Philippines more often than not started in the sugar plantation business.
The problem with going to Region VI and Region X for sugarcane is that there have already been reports of Ethanol Distilleries being setup. In Region X alone, Southern Bukidnon Bioethanol Inc has already started constructing their plant in Kibawe. Setting up another sugarcane fed distillery will drive up the price of sugarcane.
Purchasing your own land to start a farm has it’s difficulties, mainly because the Land Reform Law is in effect in the Philippines till 2008. This means that all agricultural land is subject to distribution to tenants, with the land owner being allowed retain 5 ha for himself while his children will get 3 ha each. Although it is set to expire in 2008 there is a possibility of it being extended if the house decides to file a bill calling for extension. The most common work around for this is to lease land from small land owners till you get the hectarage that you require.
Historically, only Indigenous People of the Philippines are allowed to own huge tracts of land by virtue of the IPRA Law which recognizes their rights to their heritage.
I’ve heard however of loop holes being used to bypass the Land Reform Law, but I’m not about to mention that here 
Source of Raw Data : Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
Category: Bioethanol
December 27th, 2006 at 4:27 am
[…] The distillery is to be located at the San Carlos Agro-Industrial Economic Zone found at Negros Occidental. The distillery is strategically located in the Philippine province which has the highest production of sugarcane. […]
February 4th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
[…] The Philippine Biofuels Act of 2006 calls for a mandatory 5% blending of Ethanol into Gasoline while 1% Biodiesel in Petro diesel for the first 4 years upon signing of the Bill into Law. Congressman Zubiri authored the House version of the Bill as well as lobbied vehemently to get it passed at the Senate and Congress. The Distinguished Gentleman from Bukidnon (one of the top sugar producers in the Philippines) is now seeking to run for Senator in the May 2007 Philippine Elections. I am expecting him to win given the strong support that he will receive from the sugar producing regions of the Philippines. The distinguished gentleman is the son of Gov. Zubiri of Bukidnon. […]