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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
2nd Regular Session 
House Bill No. 10465 
Introduced by Representative ERIC GO YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Benguet Province is known to be characterized by its mountainous terrains and cool 
weather all year round—the same traits which the province’s rich cultivated lands and 
thriving variation of the fruits and vegetables are being attributed to. Apart from being 
hailed as the “Salad Bowl of the Philippines”, Benguet is known for their strawberries, 
most especially the Municipality of La Trinidad.  To note, there are over 700 strawberry 
farms in La Trinidad alone which produce over a thousand metric tons of the said fruit 
every year—making the province the central and biggest producer of strawberries in this 
country.  
The province annually holds the Strawberry Festival in pursuit of recognizing the success 
of strawberry farming as being one of the major economic drivers in the province, as well 
as encouraging more farmers to be in the industry. Therefore, given such 
accomplishments, it is timely to institutionalize a National Program for the Strawberry 
Industry, which this Bill seeks, not only to promote the said industry for income 
generation of farmers but also to increase farm productivity of strawberries in pursuit of 
the industry’s sustainable development. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
HON. ERIC GO YAP 
May 21, 2024
2:43 pm


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
2nd Regular Session 
House Bill No. 10465 
Introduced by Representative ERIC GO YAP 
AN ACT  
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY 
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. - This act shall be known as the "Strawberry Industry 
Development Act of 2024." 
    SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
promote the strawberry industry as an income source of farmers and increase farm 
productivity for sustainable development. 
SEC. 3. Creation of a National Strawberry Board. - There shall be a National 
Strawberry Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, that shall direct, supervise and 
monitor the development and promotion of the strawberry industry. The board shall be 
composed of: 
a. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as Chairman;
b. Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as Vice Chairman;
c. Secretary of Department of Science and Technology (DOST);
d. Secretary of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG);
e. One (1) representative from State Universities and Colleges; One (1)
representative from the League of Municipalities where strawberry is primarily
grown;
g. One (1) representative from a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
working on strawberry production, research and development, processing or
promotion; and


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h. One (1) representative from strawberry growers; One (1) representative from 
strawberry traders; and One (1) representative from strawberry processors. 
            SEC. 4. Development of the Strawberry Industry - The Board, in consultation with 
the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), state universities and colleges, 
farmer groups, local government units, and the private sector, shall formulate necessary 
programs and projects for the advancement and industry-wide development of 
strawberry in the Philippines, as follows: 
a. Create and maintain a strawberry roadmap that will outline the planned programs 
and projects to develop the strawberry industry on a national scale: 
b. Organize systematic programs that could improve strawberry production 
including the development of effective production systems;  
c. Promote the strawberry industry to investors; 
d. Provide technical assistance on planting systems and rehabilitation of farms; 
e. Develop efficient and productive processing technologies for strawberry produce;  
f. Allow and facilitate the establishment of credit programs in government banks for 
strawberry farmers;  
g. Conduct research and other scientific studies on strawberry: 
h. Establish and maintain a germplasm collection and gene bank for strawberry;  
i. Provide marketing and promotions of strawberry for domestic and export 
markets; 
j. Classify strawberry as a high value crop; 
k. Establish a strawberry-processing facility for farmers and farmer's organizations; 
and  
l. Coordinate and collaborate with other government and non-government agencies 
involved in the development of the strawberry industry. 
            SEC. 5. Secretariat of the Strawberry Board - The Undersecretary of Agriculture 
in Charge of Crops and the Head of the Bureau of Plant Industry shall be the Secretariat 
of the Board. The Office of High Value Crops Development shall establish an office space 
for the Strawberry Board for their meetings. 
            SEC. 6. Appropriation - The amount of fifty million pesos (Php50,000.000.00) shall 
be allocated from the Special Activities Fund of the President of the Republic of the 
Philippines or from any other sources that may be identified for the purpose for the 
operation, industry development as contained in Section 4 hereof. Thereafter, such sum 
required shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act of the Department 
of Agriculture. 
            SEC. 7. Separability Clause - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 


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            SEC. 8. Repealing Clause - All existing laws, rules and regulations or part thereof 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, superseded or modified 
accordingly. 
            SEC. 9. Effectivity Clause - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspaper of general 
circulation. 
 
Approved,