Abaca (Musa textilis Nee.) is an endemic crop to the Philippines and thrives very well in various regions across the country. It is a member of the Musaceae family and ranks second in importance among leaf fiber types. Abaca fiber, unlike many others, is obtained from the petioles or pseudostems of the plant’s leaves. The abaca industry is a significant source of dollar revenue and serves as a vital export crop for the nation. However, the local abaca sector’s future faces substantial challenges due to viral diseases-primarily bunchy top, mosaic, and bract mosaic, with bunchy top being the most severe. Introducing high-yield, virus-resistant abaca hybrids as an alternative to traditional varieties holds considerable promise for addressing this critical issue within the Philippine abaca industry. This chapter also explores market dynamics, industry challenges, distribution, cultivation, genetic resources, and various breeding methodologies for abaca. Advances in tissue culture, mutation breeding, genetic engineering, transcriptomics, and genomics have been utilized to demonstrate the successful transfer of resistance genes from donor species to traditional abaca varieties. Noteworthy achievements in abaca breeding include the development of  Dioscoro 1 formerly named Backcross Abaca with Native and Desirable Accessions to Lift-up the Abaca industry (BANDALA) variety at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Dioscoro 1 or BANDALA is the result of wide hybridization between wild Musa balbisiana (Pacol) and abaca. Through a series of backcrossing and marker-assisted selection, Pacol, serving as the donor parent for abaca bunchy top virus disease resistance, was incorporated into traditional abaca varieties. BANDALA is intended for use in textiles, handicrafts, pulp, and paper production. This chapter outlines the progress in abaca breeding in the Philippines and the specific strategies used to generate various types of abaca varieties.