FARMERS DEALT A CRUSHING BLOW IN BICAM-OK’D COCO LEVY BILL

The optimism of the country’s coconut farmers died down on Wednesday after the congressional bicameral conference approved the Senate version of the coco levy bill—a landmark legislation that took 47 years to hurdle.

Farmer groups described the version as “inadequate,” fearing further delays in the release of the P105-billion fund since a separate legislation was still needed before it could be utilized.

Under the latest version of the bill, a “reconstituted” body under the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) would be tasked to handle the fund. A separate bill must still be passed to amend the agency’s charter.

PCA administrator Romulo Dela Rosa said the committee was targeting to submit the consequent bill “within the month,” but farmers are cynical of the timeline.

“This is a dead law. It’s empty,” said Joey Faustino, leader of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement.

“This is far from the original design of the sector. We would need another law to set this in motion. What we want is the immediate release of the money for the benefit of the poorest farmers,” he added.

“We are really disappointed with the decision of the body,” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas secretary general Danny Carranza said.

“It’s as if the lawmakers did not study the bill and were just pressured by the order of the President,” he said.

The governing body under PCA, which would consist of four representatives from the government, one representative from the industry and six coconut farmers, runs counter to the request of farmer leaders to create a trust fund committee.

Senators earlier nixed this request as Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto’s amendment to consolidate everything under PCA prevailed. The Senate said the creation of another committee would “bloat the bureaucracy” and delay the process.

Other provisions opposed by the farmers included the fund’s 25-year shelf life and its inclusion in the government’s general fund. This means coconut farmers would have to wait for the approval of the Congress yearly for their allocation, akin to the practice for pork barrel funds.

The list of beneficiaries would also be expanded to accommodate all coconut farmers including landlords.