THE Marcos administration is looking to capitalize on the bamboo industry by infusing P100 million on developing the capabilities of the domestic industry thus  promoting Filipino innovations.

They target to spread the bamboo architecture across the globe, despite budgetary constraints.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano said that various officials had inquired about working out a deal with agencies and  officials as to where the fund will be drawn.

They said though that most of the money will come from their department.

Savellano claimed that with the heightened impetus to modernize the local bamboo sector, there is a growing international demand for engineered bamboo –high-value products that are sought-after by the construction industry.

“Engineered bamboo production is a multi-billion-dollar global industry now… and we want the Philippines to take advantage of this growing demand. The export potential for this is huge and we cannot waste time,” he said.

But Savellano said that that the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBDIC), tasked to spearhead the government’s bamboo development and promotion efforts, cannot fully execute its mandate because it remains an unfunded agency.

"The council is struggling to remain operational because of budget issues… but we keep going because we really want to take our world-class bamboo products to the global market,” said Savellano, who is concurrently PBIDC vice chairman.