Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 1339 
Introduced by Rep. Cielo Krisel B. Lagman 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to fully develop and modernize the Pili Industry, 
principally in the Bicol Region. For this purpose, a Pili Industry Subsidy Fund 
is proposed to be established. 
As we earnestly search for and validate indigenous products with 
potential to help speed up our economic recovery, there is the versatile pili 
nut waiting to be cracked for domestic and global markets. 
The pili tree is indigenous to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, 
Papua New Guinea, and Australia’s Northern Territories. But it is in the 
Philippines, more particularly in the fertile volcanic soils of Bicolandia, where 
it is grown commercially. The Department of Trade and Industry reports that 
“the Philippines is the only country capable of the commercial production and 
processing of pili-based food and by-products, with Bicol supplying 80% of 
the total output volume.” 
The pili nut is the veritable “King of Nuts”. It is better in nutrients, 
texture, and delicacy to macadamia, pistachio, almond, and other 
internationally known nuts, even as the other nuts are packaged more 
attractively and marketed more aggressively. 
Pili nuts are: 1) loaded with magnesium, potassium, and calcium; 2) 
rich in omega-3 fatty acids, phosphorus, and protein, promoting heart health 
and balancing cholesterol levels; 3) full of all eight essential amino acids 
which increase satiety, thus helping in weight loss; 4) abundant in Vitamin E 
for healthy skin and hair; and 5) helpful in treating insomnia because their 
high magnesium content promotes restful sleep. 
The enviable versatility of the pili includes the following: 1) the kernel 
can be eaten raw or sugar-coated, roasted or salted, and it is also used in 
confections like candies, cakes, and ice creams; 2) both the kernel and the 
pulp are excellent sources of oil, and reputedly even better than olive oil; (3) 
pili oil is a natural germicide and has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory 
properties for treating wounds and allergies; 4) the fragrant pili tree sap, 
known worldwide as Manila elemi, is used in perfumes, aromatherapy oils, 
and anti-aging products; 5)  the hardy shells make excellent charcoal 
briquettes for commercial bakeries;  5) the pili tree is also a hardwood for 
furniture and home décor; and 6) the full-grown pili tree which averages 20 
1
July 7, 2025
8:20 am


meters tall is a natural wind breaker, ideal in the typhoon-prone Bicol 
Region, and can also be used for massive reforestation. 
In his more than 30 years as a Bicolano legislator, the esteemed late 
representative of the First District of Albay, Hon. Edcel C. Lagman, had 
always strongly supported and campaigned for the growth and expansion of 
the pili industry, improvement in pili production, and protection of pili 
planters and entrepreneurs. 
The modernization of pili cultivation and the development of the pili 
industry were already in his agenda even when he was a first-term legislator 
in the 8th Congress. Hon. Lagman wrote to then Secretary of Agriculture 
Carlos Dominguez to earmark funds to jumpstart the pili industry. When 
Senator Edgardo Angara was the Agriculture Secretary of then President 
Joseph Estrada, he informed the late senator about his concern that the pili 
was not getting the funding and attention it deserved as a valuable resource. 
Twenty-eight years ago, Hon. Lagman sponsored the establishment of 
what is now the Albay Research and Development Center under the 
Department of Agriculture, twelve kilometers from the foot of the Mayon 
Volcano in Tabaco City. It has been promoting pili as the Bicol Region’s 
flagship crop. Moreover, it has achieved 85-90% success in asexual 
propagation; identified eight superior varieties; and distributed thousands of 
grafted pili and pili seedlings regionwide.  
When he was Chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations in the 
14th Congress, Hon. Lagman allocated P500-M for the development of 
indigenous Philippine products, a sizeable amount of which was budgeted for 
pili cultivation and production. The pili seedlings planted with this fund are 
now full-grown fruit-bearing trees.  
In September 2020, Hon. Lagman wrote twice to Agriculture Secretary 
William Dar proposing the establishment and funding of a “Pili Industry 
Development Program” for harnessing the potential of the pili and the full 
development of the pili industry in the Provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, and 
Camarines Sur and other parts of the Bicol Region and the country which are 
suitable for pili cultivation. Secretary Dar initially allocated P30-M which 
should be sustained annually in much bigger amounts. 
Since pili is endemic to the entire Bicol Region, no one province can 
claim to be the “Pili Capital of the Philippines”, an appellation that is both 
counterproductive and discriminatory. 
Importantly, the regionwide Bicol University, under the able 
stewardship of its President, Dr. Baby Boy Benjamin D. Nebres III, is 
immensely contributing to the research and development of the pili industry. 
There is critical need for sufficient and continuing government support 
and private sector investments to address the following concerns: 
1) establishment of pili plantations because the current supply of pili raw
materials principally comes from backyard trees; 2) prolonging the shelf-life
of pili products to increase their competitiveness with other nuts; 3)
2


enhancing the quality of pili products and improving their packaging to make 
them more competitive and attractive; 4)  massively promoting the export 
potential of pili products; and 5) prohibiting the exportation of the raw pili 
shell, grafted pili and pili seedlings to maintain the country’s dominance in 
pili production. 
Verily, the export potential of pili is propelled by the country’s 
comparative advantage as the sole commercial producer of pili products. Let 
us seize and maximize this singular opportunity. 
We must not miss the great potential and unmatched versatility of the 
pili nut which we must commercially crack, so to speak, for more domestic 
consumption and global export. Consumers abroad will surely go nuts over 
the pili. 
Approval of this bill is earnestly urged. 
CIELO KRISEL B. LAGMAN 
3


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 1339 
Introduced by Rep. Cielo Krisel B. Lagman 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE PILI INDUSTRY SUBSIDY FUND TO ENHANCE 
THE CULTIVATION, PRODUCTION, AND MARKETING OF PILI FOR 
DOMESTIC AND EXPORT TRADE 
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 “Pili 
Industry Subsidy Fund Act”. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy 
of the State to promote the cultivation, production, and marketing for 
domestic consumption and global trade of indigenous products where the 
Philippines has comparative advantage, like the pili of the Bicol Region.  
To achieve this objective, the State shall establish a Pili Industry 
Subsidy Fund to promote the development of pili for domestic and export 
trade; undertake extensive and comprehensive research on the selection of 
the most productive and superior pili specimens, manufacture of innovative 
and novel pili products, extend the shelf life of pili products; and finance 
deserving and qualified pili farmers and entrepreneurs. 
SECTION 3. Pili Industry Subsidy Fund. – A Pili Industry Subsidy 
Fund is hereby created with an initial amount of Three Hundred Million Pesos 
(P300,000,000) which shall be annually replenished in the General 
Appropriations Act. The Subsidy Fund shall be administered by the 
Department of Agriculture (DA) in coordination with the Department of 
Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Trade and Industry 
(DTI). The Subsidy Fund shall be principally downloaded by the DA to its 
Regional Field Office 5 as well as to the DOST and DTI, as necessary. 
SECTION 4. Utilization of the Pili Industry Subsidy Fund. – The 
Pili Industry Subsidy Fund shall be used exclusively for the following:  
(a)
Development of pili culture, production, packaging, extension of
the shelf life of pili products, and marketing for domestic and foreign
trade of both food and non-food pili products;
(b)
Financial assistance at concessionary interest rates to pili
4


farmers and entrepreneurs. For this purpose, the DA has the option to 
open loan windows in the various branches of the Land Bank of the 
Philippines in the Bicol Region, particularly in Albay, Camarines Sur, 
and Sorsogon; 
(c)
Purchase of fertilizers as well as farm and production implements 
for free distribution to pili farmers and entrepreneurs; 
(d)
The establishment of large pili plantations to achieve economy of 
scale;  
(e)
To attract private investment in the pili industry; and 
(f)
Other allied programs and activities to fully achieve the goals of 
this Act. 
SECTION 5. Regional Pili Capital. – The Bicol Region consisting of 
the Provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, 
Masbate, and Sorsogon is hereby declared as the Pili Regional Capital of the 
Philippines, without prejudice to assisting financially and technically the pili 
farmers and producers in other parts of the country suitable to pili culture.  
SECTION 6. Pili Regional Research and Technology Development 
Center. – The Albay Research and Development Center in Tabaco City, 
Province of Albay, is hereby acknowledged as the premier and principal 
center for pili research and development and is renamed as the “Pili Regional 
Research and Technology Development Center” under the DA Regional Field 
Office 5 (DA RFO 5). Satellite research centers in the Bicol University, 
Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, and Sorsogon State University 
shall likewise be established to assist the Pili Regional Research and 
Technology Development Center.  
SECTION 7. Functions of the Pili Regional Research and 
Technology Development Center. – The Pili Regional Research and 
Technology Development Center shall have the following functions: 
(a)Undertake extensive research and continuing technical studies on 
the cultivation, production, development, and marketing of pili and 
allied products; 
(b)Extend technical assistance and support to pili farmers and 
entrepreneurs in the Bicol Region and in other parts of the Philippines 
suitable to pili culture;  
(c)Develop, propagate, and improve high-yielding and quality pili 
seedlings for free distribution to pili farmers; 
(d)Coordinate with the Bicol University, Central Bicol State University of 
Agriculture, and Sorsogon State University in training faculty 
members and research personnel on the development of the pili 
industry; 
5


(e)Publish and disseminate to pili stakeholders research studies, 
monographs, academic papers, dissertations, articles, and other 
writings relative to the pili industry; and  
(f)Discharge all other allied functions and duties relevant to the 
promotion and development of the pili industry. 
SECTION 8. Role of the Department of Science and Technology. 
– The Department of Science and Technology shall coordinate with the DA in 
prolonging the shelf-life of pili products comparable to other nuts worldwide. 
It shall also assist the DA, more particularly the Pili Regional Research and 
Technology Development Center, in developing both food and non-food pili 
products like soaps, cosmetics, perfumery, charcoal briquettes, and other 
novelty items as well as technology solutions to improve pili production and 
processing. 
SECTION 9. Role of the Department of Trade and Industry. – The 
Department of Trade and Industry shall assist the DA in the packaging and 
marketing of pili food and non-food products for competitive domestic and 
foreign trade. It shall also mandate its foreign posts, as well as its Regional 
Offices, to assist in the promotion of pili products.  
SECTION 10. Prohibitions and Penalties. – To maintain the 
Philippines’ dominance in pili culture and production, it shall be a criminal 
offense to export and/or carry out of the country raw pili and/or intact pili 
shells, pili seedlings and saplings, and grafted pili in any quantity which can 
germinate culture and propagation in other countries. Penalty of five (5) 
years imprisonment and a fine of Five Hundred Thousand Pesos 
(P500,000.00) shall be imposed by the competent court on any violator of 
this provision.  
SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within thirty 
(30) days from the effectivity of this Act, the DA in collaboration with the 
DOST, DTI and the Bicol University shall promulgate and issue the 
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this Act. 
SECTION 12. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is 
declared unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected shall remain 
constitutional and valid.   
SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. – All laws and parts thereof which 
are inconsistent with any provision/s of this Act shall be deemed repealed or 
modified accordingly. 
SECTION 14. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general 
circulation. 
Approved, 
6