Congressmen from Camarines Sur in Bicol--a major producer of Filipinos' beloved ube--have unveiled plans of making the distinctive purple yam a big-time export, in the same way that matcha or green tea has turned into a major dollar-earner for Japan. 

To achieve this, Rep. Luigi Villafuerte (2nd district) and Rep. Migz Villafuerte (5th district) have led the filing of House Bill (HB) No. 8814, which bats for the creation of a Philippine Ube Industry Council.

The proposed council shall set standards, guide investments, coordinate agencies, and steward a long-term Philippine Ube Industry Development Program to do for the country the kind of money-making global success that matcha powder has done for Japan.

The Villafuertes are also prodding the government to include ube (Dioscorea Alata) on its list of national priority crops and strategic exports, amid the fast-growing demand for ube and ube products in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Rep. Luigi said that in the Philippines, Bicol is known for producing ube, especially in CamarinesSur, Camarines Norte, Albay and Sorsogon, for both local consumption and commercial markets. 

He said, 35 percent of the country’s ube production is in Bicol, with exports of ube and ube-based products hitting $3.06 million in 2025.

“Japan’s experience with matcha offers a clear blueprint—and a set of cautionary lessons—on how a local agricultural product can become a multibillion-dollar global industry,” Luigi, a former Camarines Sur governor, said.

“Strategic government support, strong geographic branding and high quality standards enabled matcha’s rise. However,  the national strategy that we want the proposed Philippine Ube Industry Council to craft and implement should eschew these vulnerabilities that have trailed the global matcha boom: supply shortages, aging farmer populations, climate impacts, price spikes, counterfeit products, and competition from lower-quality substitutes,” he said.

Under HB No. 8814, the council is tasked to establish an ube development blueprint that will “learn from and surpass” Japan’s experience with its match boom by:

·       Declaring ube as a national priority crop and strategic export under the High-Value Crops Development Act (Republic Act or RA No. 7900), Export Development Act (RA 7844), and related laws; 

·       Structuring the industry to avoid shortages, volatility, counterfeit risks, and sustainability issues now challenging the global matcha supply chain;

·       Building robust systems for geographic indication (GI) and intellectual property protection under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293), to make sure that “Philippine Ube” and regional GIs such as “CamSur Ube” become globally protected origin brands; and

·       Promoting the Philippine Ube Industry in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), local government units (LGUs) and the private sector.

This Council shall have the Department of Agriculture (DA) as chairperson, and the Secretary of the DTI as vice chairperson.

Rep. Migz, also a former provincial governor like his sibling, said: “HB 8814 envisions the Philippines as the undisputed global leader in ube—with a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive framework than that experienced by early matcha development.”

He says ube is among the unique crops of the Philippines, which is globally recognized for its rich biodiversity, culinary heritage and agricultural potentials. 

“Ube stands out as a distinctly Filipino ingredient with rapidly growing international appeal in food, beverage, dessert and specialty product markets. In the Philippines alone, ube is highly used as ube jam that we regularly incorporate in food such as our famous dessert—Halo-Halo—and in ice cream, cakes and cookies," he pointed out.

With the proposed council, Rep Migz said, “Our goal is to establish the Philippines as the premier global source of ube and ube-derived products, particularly ube powder, by ensuring quality excellence, geographic indication protection, and unified brand promotion.”

The bills aims to guarantee that smallholder ube farmers and rural communities are primary beneficiaries through improved market access, fair pricing, technical support and strengthened linkages to domestic and international value chains, he said.

HB No.8814 also seeks to put up an Ube Industry Development Fund (UIDF), which shall be administered by the Council to support ube industry development programs and projects.

The measure was also authored by Camarines Sur 1st district Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Bicol Saro Partyl-list Rep. Terry Ridon.

Incidentally, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Camarines Sur recently approved Ordinance No. 040 series of 2026, which declared ube as the province’s priority crop.

It also establishes the Camarines Sur Ube Development Program as the blueprint for developing “a comprehensive ube value chain from farm to export” to harness the full economic potential of this crop.

Incumbent Governor LRay Villafuerte said this SP-approved program aims to “replicate—and even surpass—the success of Japan in transforming matcha or green tea powder into a superb export winner by assigning purple yarn with preferential consideration in the agricultural support programs, technical assistance, extension services, enterprise development initiatives and value chain investments of the provincial LGU (local government unit).”

Ordinance 40 was approved on the motion of SP member Regin Oliver Oliva, and seconded by fellow SP members Jesha Aina Noble, Sofia Charis Hernandez-Palmero and Darius Nopra.