Section 1
SECTION 1. There is hereby established a National Crop Protection Center, hereinafter referred to as the Center, in the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, with the following specific functions: To undertake problem analyses, development research and planning required to develop crop protect ion systems against pest of major economic crops. To develop and implement manpower training programs de signed to upgrade the pool of manpower required to meet the complex pest control needs of the country. To undertake information exchange and extension to provide farmers and the public with coordinated information about the varied facets of pest control and to emphasize the urgent need for safe and effective pest control practices. To establish adequate linkage between research and operational phasis at the farm level in order to ensure that the changing research needs of operational activities are met and that operational activities are base on the most recent and applicable research findings. To provide scientific advice to government planners for the formulation of policies and regulatory programs necessary for dealing with the complex pest control technologies essential for the protection of crops. There is also hereby initially established seven regional crop protection centers of the Bureau of Plant Industry which will serve the research, extension and protection needs of the geographic areas they encompass. The functions of the regional crop centers shall be the same as those of the Center as enumerated hereinabove, except that the emphasis shall be on applied research in the region as well as actual protection and field extension work. The locations of the initial regional centers ere as follows: 1) Dingras, Ilocos Norte; 2) Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; 3) Pili, Camarines Sur; 4) Palo, Leyte; 5) Iloilo City; 6) Malaybalay, Bukidnon; and 7) Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. Additional regional crop protection centers may be established hereafter, as may be required from time to time, by the Center, in consultation with the Advisory Board and with the concurrence of the Bureau of Plant Industry.