Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING COMMUNITY VEGETABLE GARDENS IN ALL 
BARANGAYS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND PROVIDING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The barangay is the foundational unit of Philippine governance; the first 
port of call for every Filipino citizen. It must provide optimal basic services that 
will address the everyday concerns of the people- from concerns about peace and 
order to concerns about sanitation and waste management and even source of 
daily food and sustenance. 
With the country’s economy depending heavily on the agricultural sector 
that is constantly hit by natural calamities, plus the aftereffects of the pandemic, 
people’s access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods is rather challenged, 
threatening food security. 
To address the country's looming issue of food insecurity, the State, 
through the Department of Interior and Local Government, released 
Memorandum Circular 2023-001, aptly known as Halina’t Magtanim ng Prutas at 
Gulay (HAPAG) sa Barangay Project. The program mandates the barangays, as 
well as encourages the households to establish community gardens that can serve 
as food sources at the grassroots level, where it is most accessible to people.  
Cognizant of the importance of this mandate to the problem of hunger and 
food insecurity in the Philippines, this bill seeks to institutionalize this 
Memorandum Circular to ensure continuous and sustainable implementation of 
the project. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is urgently sought. 
REP. PM VARGAS   
Fifth District, Quezon City 
January 23, 2023
12:39 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING COMMUNITY GARDENS IN ALL BARANGAYS ACROSS 
THE COUNTRY AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Hapag sa 
Barangay Act” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to protect and promote the right to food security through a systematic 
diversification of food sources at the community and grassroots levels. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. 
A. Barangay Community Garden. – The barangay community garden shall
refer to a piece of land or several patches of land operated and cultivated
by the barangay for the purpose of planting and growing vegetables and
fruit-bearing trees.
B. Aeroponics – an integration of aquaculture (fish farming) with
hydroponics. Creates symbiotic relationships between the plants and
the fish. It uses the nutrient-rich waste from fish tanks to “fertigate”
hydroponic production beds, and hydroponic bed clean water for fish
habitats.
C. Aquaponics -A bio-system that incorporates recirculated, aquaculture
(fish farming) with hydroponic vegetable and herb production to create
symbiotic relationships between the plants and the fish. The symbiosis
is achieved using nutrient-rich waste from fish tanks to “fertigate”
hydroponic production beds. In turn, the hydroponic beds also function
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as bio-filters that remove gases, acids, and chemicals, such as 
ammonia, nitrates, and phosphates, from the water.  
D. Container Gardening – refers to a micro-model farming where a family 
unit or household is producing fruits and vegetables in special 
containers for personal consumption. 
E. Fruit-Bearing Tree Planting – refers to the planting of fruit-bearing trees 
for food production purposes such as papaya, bananas, mango, 
avocado, santol, jackfruit, guyabano, coconut, guava, lemon, mulberry, 
etc. 
F. Hydroponics – a method of growing food using mineral nutrient 
solutions in water without soil (soilless-based). 
G. Square Foot Gardening – is a simple method of creating small, orderly, 
and highly productive kitchen gardens. 
H. Vertical gardening – refers to a special kind of urban gardening suitable 
for small spaces, particularly for decorating walls and roofs in various 
styles. It is an alternative method for gardening by expanding the scope 
of growing plants in a vertical space.   
 
SECTION 4. Establishment of a Community Garden in Every Barangay.  
The community garden shall be established in an available site, which will 
have at least a minimum of two hundred (200) square meters of land area or 
its equivalent in several patches of land. 
 
The Barangay shall identify which vegetable plants (e.g. leafy 
vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, fruit-bearing plants, legumes, etc.) herbal 
plants, root crops, (e.g. sweet potato, cassava, taro, carrots, radish, potato, 
garlic, etc.), they wish to grow. 
 
Barangays with suitable spaces are hereby encouraged to plant bamboo 
(kawayan) while those that do not have vacant areas shall implement 
alternative gardening such as container gardening, vertical gardening, square 
foot gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. 
 
Further, barangays are encouraged to coordinate and request from the 
concerned city/municipal government for any vacant property owned by the 
local government or with private individuals who own a certain vacant lot that 
can be used to establish the barangay community garden.  
 
Moreover, the barangays shall encourage their residents to set up their 
family vegetable gardens and/or plant fruit-bearing trees in available open 
spaces. 
 
SECTION 5. Roles and Responsibilities of Local Government Units 


A. Province, City, and Municipality. 
1. Ensure the formulation, or if existing, revision/updating of the 
local nutrition plan of action, to include and support the 
establishment of and maintenance of community gardens (this 
includes both the barangay and household gardens); 
2. Implement, monitor, and evaluate their respective local 
nutrition plans which include, but are not limited to the 
provision of technical assistance to barangays to promote 
basic agriculture through natural farming to serve as food 
baskets or main source of vegetables to sustain the dietary 
needs of the community as well as households, provision of 
agricultural services and facilities to the barangays; 
3. Include in their respective Provincial Development and 
Physical Framework Plan and Comprehensive Development 
Plan for provinces and cities and municipalities respectively, 
as well as in their local development and annual investment 
programs, applicable programs and activities to promote 
nutrition such as the establishment and maintenance of 
barangay community gardens, to ensure adequate funding for 
nutritional impact;    
4. Ensure the organization, reorganization, and strengthening of 
the Local Nutrition Committees at the Provincial, City, and 
Municipal level with the local chief executive as chairperson 
through the enactment of a local ordinance. 
5. Designate a Nutrition Action Officer, preferably on a full-time 
basis with the corresponding staff support to coordinate 
nutrition action and implement one or more components of 
the local nutrition action pa, as may be needed; 
6. Provided technical and financial assistance to barangays, 
particularly in the implementation of agricultural activities 
and provision of agricultural support services; 
7. Provide agricultural support services and facilities to the 
barangays such as, but not limited to vegetable seed farms, 
fruit-tree and other kinds of seedling nurseries; improvement 
and development of local distribution channels, preferably 
through cooperatives; inter-barangay irrigation system; 
prevention and control of plant pests and diseases, assistance 
in the organizations of cooperatives; among others; 
8. For cities and municipalities, ensure the establishment of 
community gardens in their respective barangays; 
9. For cities and municipalities, enact an ordinance that would 
enjoin the setting-up and operations of barangay community 
gardens; 


10. 
Promote vegetable production and consumption of cops 
existing naturally in the area; and 
11. 
Encourage the residents in the barangay to set-up their 
family vegetable garden and or/plant fruit-bearing trees in 
available open spaces. 
 
B. Barangay 
1. Ensure the organization, reorganization, and strengthening of 
the Barangay Nutrition Committee; 
2. Include in their respective Barangay Development Plans and 
Annual 
Investment 
Programs, 
applicable 
nutritional 
programs, projects, and activities to ensure adequate funding 
for nutritional impact; 
3. Ensure the formulation, or if existing, revision/updating of the 
barangay nutrition action plan in line with eh full devolution, 
to include the establishment and maintenance of the 
Barangay Community Garden, provision of seedling materials 
and agricultural equipment and facilities, among others; 
4. Designate one (1) Sangguniang barangay member, preferably 
the one who handles environmental concerns, to lead and 
manage the establishment and maintenance of the barangay 
community garden, through an Executive Order; 
5. The Punong Barangay shall also designate personnel from 
among the barangay officials and staff, including the 
Barangay Nutrition Scholar, who shall assist in the operations 
and maintenance of the barangay community garden; 
6. Identify the area/s where the barangay community garden 
shall be established; 
7. Set up a community garden in a vacant area, preferably owned 
by the barangay or local government concerned;  
8. Together 
with 
the 
designated 
Sangguniang 
barangay 
members, coordinate with their respective City/Municipal 
Agricultural Offices or their equivalent for any available 
agricultural, 
training, 
seminars, 
and 
capacity-building 
services, as well as seeding materials and other agricultural 
equipment and facilities, that would help them in the 
operations of their barangay community garden; 
9. Lead the promotion of barangay community gardening to their 
community, including its importance and benefits as well as 
the products produced through the community garden; 
10. 
Promote agribusiness, especially for high-value products in 
the area; 


11. 
Keep a record of the overall operations of the community 
garden such as the types of seedlings planted, number of 
seedlings per plant planted, and number of vegetables and 
fruits harvested (e.g. per sack, per piece, per kilo, etc.), among 
others; 
12. 
Ensure the adequate provision of agricultural services and 
facilities in the barangay pursuant to Section 17 of the Local 
Government Code of 1991; 
13. 
Enact an ordinance regarding the setting-up and 
operations of barangay community gardens and allocate funds 
to sustain its operations; 
14. 
Establish a group of volunteers in the community to help 
in the establishment of and maintenance of the barangay 
community garden as well as spread the information in 
setting-up household vegetable gardening and/or planting 
fruit-bearing trees; and 
15. 
Submit 
necessary 
reports 
to 
the 
respective 
DILG 
City/Municipal Field Offices on their compliance with the 
establishment of the barangay community garden. 
 
C. DILG Central Office- National Barangay Operations Office 
1. Develop guidelines and mechanisms to ensure the effective 
implementation of and monitoring of the compliance of 
barangays with this Act; 
2. Develop educational module and information, education, and 
communication (IEC) materials for the capacity-building 
activities and awareness campaign of the project; 
3. Monitor the compliance of barangays with  this Act; and 
4. Develop guidelines for the establishment of recognition and 
awards to barangays with exemplary performance; 
 
D. DILG Regional Office 
1. Cause the immediate and widest dissemination of this Act to 
all local government units within their respective regional 
jurisdiction; 
2. Designate a focal person to monitor the implementation of the 
HAPAG sa Barangay Project; 
3. Provide technical assistance to DILG Field Offices in the 
implementation of the HAPAG sa Barangay Project, when 
necessary; and 
4. Prepare and submit the Regional Monitoring Report to DILG 
Central Office. 
 


E. DILG Provincial Office 
1. Designate a focal person to monitor the implementation of the 
HAPAG sa Barangay Project; 
2. Provide technical assistance to DILG Filed Officers and ensure 
the compliance of the barangays in their respective 
jurisdiction; and 
3. Prepare and submit the Provincial Monitoring Report to the 
DILG Regional Office. 
 
F. DILG City/Municipal Office 
1. Provide technical assistance to their respective local 
government units, especially the barangays in the local 
implementation of the HAPAG sa Barangay Project; and 
2. Monitor the compliance of the barangays to this ACT and 
submit a report to the DILG Provincial Filed Office or DILG 
Regional Office, in the case of highly urbanized cities (HUCs) 
and independent component cities (ICCs). 
 
SECTION 
6. 
Appropriations. 
– 
The 
amount 
necessary 
for 
the 
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the National Tax 
Allotment (NTA) of the LGUs. 
 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. – If any portion or provision of this Act is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof shall remain in 
full force and effect.   
 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. –All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, 
and regulations, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, or 
modified accordingly.  
 
SECTION 9. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general 
circulation.  
 
Approved,