Press Release
November 3, 2014

Villar: Coconut farmers should benefit from coco levy funds now

Sen. Cynthia Villar pushed for a law that will make sure the P 100 billion coco levy funds will be spent and used for the benefit of the more than 3.5 million coconut farmers in the country.

"The coconut farmers are the poorest in the country; they only make P50 a day on the average. It is indecent to say the least, to keep the money that is rightfully theirs, away from them," Villar said.

Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, filed Senate bill No. 2126 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act, which seeks to establish a trust fund that will pay for the implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.

"It is high time that we implement the ruling of the Supreme Court, which declares these funds as public and should be utilized to develop the coconut industry and to improve the lives of our coconut farmers," Villar said.

The bill mandates the creation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry fund, a trust fund which shall be perpetually maintained for the development of the coconut industry for the ultimate benefit of coconut farmers and farm workers. It shall be used to fund the implementation of programs and projects identified in the plan.

Capitalization of this fund will come from all monies deposited with the United Coconut Planters Bank under the name of the CIIF pursuant to the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1468, as amended, and any and all proceeds for the redemption or sale of the CIIF SMC Block Shares and all dividends accruing or have accrued thereto shall form part of the initial capital of the trust fund.

The trust fund shall thereafter be augmented with all proceeds of privatization/disposition of the coconut levy assets remitted by the Privatization Management Office, including any and all forms of income, interests, earnings, yields, or any monetary benefit which accrues to the trust fund pursuant to the investments made.

The trust principal shall be preserved and maintained at all times and for this purpose, will be invested in the Republic of the Philippines bonds. Only the trust income may be used for the implementation of the plan.

Under the bill, the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan will be prepared for the development and rehabilitation of the coconut industry. It will include, among others, a national program for coconut productivity, replanting, rehabilitation, scientific and medical research, integrated downstream processing, and market promotion.

It will also include local programs that directly benefit small coconut farmers and farm workers, such as medical and health and life insurance services, educational scholarships for deserving students coming from families of coconut farmers, or beneficiaries of the coconut levy funds.

"With the integration of ASEAN economies next year, there is a need to modernize the coconut industry towards global competitiveness and at the same time protect small coconut farmers and farm workers from unfair competition. A fund should be present to make this possible," Villar added.

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