Coconut levy trust fund law could be signed before SONA, Villar says

MATI CITY, Davao Oriental — Proposed legislation that will establish the coconut trust fund and provide interventions for the industry’s development could be passed and signed into law before the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23, according to Senator Cynthia A. Villar.

Ms. Villar, speaking to the media on the sidelines of Davao Oriental province’s 51st founding anniversary on Sunday, said the bicameral committee is expected to take up the Senate and House of Representatives versions of the measure in the coming days.

“I see no huge difference between the two versions. The bicam is expected to submit the final form to President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte even before the SONA for his signature,” according to Ms. Villar, one of the bill’s authors and chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food security.