House bill declaring San Jose, Batangas as ‘Egg Basket of PH’ approved
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the proposed legislation to declare the municipality of San Jose in Batangas province as the Egg Basket of the Philippines “in recognition of the economic significance of its egg industry in the local and national levels.”
House Bill No. 7660 was okayed Monday with 196 affirmative votes, zero negative votes, and without abstention.
In his explanatory note, Batangas 4th District Rep. Lianda Bolilia noted that San Jose is a first-class municipality in Batangas that generates about 7 million eggs per day.
“San Jose’s poultry production continues to provide higher incomes for farm owners, generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, bring revenues to the local government, and produce a staple food for the country. As the town’s egg industry continues to modernize, its significant contribution to the food industry of the country cannot be ignored,” she said.
“Thus, by declaring the Municipality of San Jose, Province of Batangas as the ‘Egg Basket of the Philippines,’ we are recognizing the achievement and the industriousness of San Jose and its people,” she added.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the total chicken egg production from January to March this year is estimated at 150.29 thousand metric tons. Among all regions, Calabarzon, where Batangas is located, was the highest producer of chicken eggs with 45.09 thousand metric tons during the quarter.
The Batangas Egg Producers Association also recently said that the province has an estimate of 30 million daily chicken egg production with San Jose as its forefront municipality with a declared layers population of 12,543,066 and more than 705 metric tons of chicken egg production on a daily basis, according to Bolilia.
The town has 342 registered independent poultry farms as of June.
In August, Agriculture Secretary William Dar also signed an executive order declaring San Jose as the “Egg Processing Capital of the Philippines.”
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