Minority senators cast skeptical yes vote to coco levy bill due to insufficient farmers' representation

Two minority senators on Monday said their yes vote to the coco levy bill was made with reservations as their proposed amendment to increase the number of coconut farmers' representation in bodies that will govern the trust fund was not accepted.

Senate Bill No. 1396, seeking to establish a trust fund from coco levy assets sequestered by the government, was approved on third and final reading in the upper chamber.

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, however, stressed that his proposed amendment to include a farmer and the Agriculture Secretary in the Trust Fund Management Committee was not accommodated.

"I have said this before and reiterate now: Farmer representation is key to this measure. Mahalaga ang pakikilahok ng mga magniniyog sa lahat ng aspeto ng pagdedesisyon pagdating sa coconut levy funds dahil una at higit sa lahat, galing sa kanilang pawis at hirap at dugo ang pera," Pangilinan said.

During the period of amendments, Senator Cynthia Villar,  sponsor of bill, rejected Pangilinan's proposal as she underscored that the Trust Fund Management Committee will focus more on financial matters.

As approved on third reading, the said committee shall be composed of the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, and Department of Justice.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also expressed concern on the number of coconut farmers' representatives in the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Board which would craft the development plan for the industry.

According to this version of the coco levy bill, three coconut farmer representatives from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao shall be part of the Board.

"Ako'y nababahala na mula anim, nalagas sa tatlo ang representasyon ng magniniyog sa PCA Board at wala ni isang magniniyog sa Trust Fund Committee," she said.

"It is important that small coconut farmers be the primary beneficiaries of this social justice legislation. But it’s equally important that they occupy all spaces where decisions are being made on the money that is owed to them,” she added.

Despite this criticism, Hontiveros said she voted in favor of the bill because she believes it is high time that the coco levy assets be transferred to the trust fund for the benefit of the farmers.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the coco levy bill after Malacañang disagreed with the provision on the PCA Board having six farmer representatives compared to five government representatives.

The coco levy fund and assets were generated from the additional tax collections imposed to local coconut farmers under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

It has been allegedly invested in enterprises for the personal interests of the late dictator and his cronies.

After Marcos was dislodged from power in 1986, local coconut farmers sought the assistance of the Presidential Commission on Good Government in filing court cases to refund their investment.

In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that at least P71-billion worth of coconut levy funds that had been used to purchase shares in San Miguel Corporation during the Marcos years belong to the government and as such, should be used solely for the benefit of coconut farmers and for the development of the coconut industry.—AOL, GMA News