MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is advocating a national roadmap to turn the Philippines into a globally competitive coffee producer and net exporter by 2035.

Lacson renewed his call Friday for the passage of Senate Bill No. 1556, or the “Philippine National Coffee Industry Development Act of 2025,” which aims to create a comprehensive framework for the industry and establish a Philippine Coffee Board.

“This measure seeks to establish a national framework that will accelerate the development of the coffee industry, create a National Coffee Board, strengthen every link of the value chain, improve the country’s competitiveness, and reduce our heavy reliance on imported coffee,” Lacson said.

The measure also seeks to boost the livelihood of small coffee farmers, who operate about 95 percent of farms under five hectares, preserve local varieties such as Barako, Robusta, Arabica, and Excelsa, promote climate-resilient production, and develop value-added processing.

Lacson noted that parts of the Visayas and Mindanao could be developed as coffee plantations. “As a matter of fact, some regions in Visayas and Mindanao may be suitable as coffee plantation areas. The DA needs to be empowered (and supported) by way of legislation. Vietnam is the second largest producer and exporter of coffee in the world next to Brazil,” he said.

He stressed the importance of meeting domestic demand while also tapping export opportunities. “Coffee is a regular part of a typical Filipino breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon meetings. Let’s develop our coffee industry not only for local consumption but to export. Hence, I filed Senate Bill 1556, establishing a Philippine national coffee industry development program,” Lacson added.

The push comes amid increasing global competition in coffee production, highlighting the need for the Philippines to strengthen its competitiveness in international markets.