Senate OKs bill declaring waling-waling as 2nd nat'l flower

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate on Monday approved a bill declaring the endemic Philippine orchid waling-waling as a second national flower aside from the sampaguita.

Senate Bill 3307, filed by Sen. Loren Legarda, states that the flower (scientific name: Euanthe sanderiana), dubbed as the Queen of Philippine Orchids, has a great potential as an export of the country after discovering a mass-production technology in the 1980s.

Sampaguita was earlier declared as the national flower of the country in Feb. 1, 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

The bill tasks the secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations that will protect, conserve and propagate the orchid along with the sampaguita.