Coco levy fund may be released this year but not directly to farmers

Days before taking the highest position in the government office, President Rodrigo Duterte wanted to address an "emotional issue" that led him to a promise that would have changed the lives of the coconut farmers who have been victimized during the Marcos era. This would be the release of the controversial coco levy fund.

The promise turned out to be a much more complicated task to fulfill that more than a year later, it is yet to come into fruition.

But if things run smoothly starting today, the R75 billion worth of assets under the coco levy fund may be finally released at the latter part of this year and no, not to the farmers but to a special trust fund that is going to be created for it.

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Romulo Dela Rosa said the target is for the Senate to release its own version of a law ordering the release of coco levy fund during the first quarter of the year.

"There was a committee hearing called by Senator Cynthia Villar last December. She invited us and some farmers. She promised to release the senate version of the coco levy fund bill within the first quarter of the year," Dela Rosa said in a phone interview.

"[In their version,] the entire R75 billion that is with the National Treasury as well as other assets will be put into a trust fund and its annual interest earnings will be utilized for programs for the development of the coconut sector," he added.

The Coco Levy Fund Scam was a controversy from 1973 to 1982 involving former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

During the Marcos dictatorship, the government overly taxed coconut farmers — promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share of the investments to be made using the funds.

A levy of R20 to R76 was automatically de-