TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte — The Senate committee on agriculture and food headed by Senator Cynthia Villar is pushing for the reconstitution of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) board, following the passage of a complementary bill to the Coco Levy Bill Bicameral Conference Committee on Wednesday.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago mass oath-taking ceremony at the Davao del Norte Tourism and Sports Complex in Tagum City on Friday, Villar said the reconstitution of board is necessary since the PCA will manage the fund.
“We want it reconstituted so that the farmers will have representation,” she said, maintaining that the majority of the new PCA board should be composed of coconut farmers.
The senator said her committee is expected to approve the bill by the end of the month.
Once the two bills are enacted into law, Villar said the PHP75-billion coco fund will go to the 3.5 million farmers through their cooperatives. The farmers will get PHP5 billion through programs and benefits.
“The PCA will be given six months to prepare the list of the beneficiaries,” she said. Among the programs are scholarships for the farmers’ children, health benefits for their families, and empowerment of their associations and cooperatives.
She said the money is already available but they are just working on the mechanisms for the distribution.
She lamented though that it is still uncertain how long it would take for the transfer of funds, but that they are rushing the passage of the two proposed measures.
Villar pointed out that the distribution of the coco fund is among President Rodrigo Duterte’s priority initiatives. (Armando Fenequito, Jr./PNA)
