The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a measure that will further strengthen the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) by amending the Revised Coconut Industry Code.
Aambis-Owa Party-list Rep. and Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin, one of the principal authors of House Bill (HB) 8552, said the measure seeks to ensure that the utilization of the coconut-levy funds will be managed efficiently by the PCA.
Garin expressed concern about the challenges faced by the agency in terms of manpower. She is wary about the PCA’s ability to effectively implement the P5-billion annual disbursement from the Coco Levy Trust Fund and the P10-billion allocation for the development of the coconut industry from the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
She said there is a need to empower the PCA by vesting it with corporate powers and functions to make it a “profitable, sustainable and development-oriented agency.”
Garin said under the powers and functions of its current charter (Presidential Decree 1468), the PCA reflects the realities of 40 years ago and the agency can only do so much with its meager budget.
Under the bill, the corporate powers and duties of the PCA shall be vested in and exercised by a board of 11 directors, from the previous seven. The secretary of the Department of Agriculture will serve as chairman and the PCA administrator as vice chairman.
Also included as members of the board are the secretaries of the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management, as well as two representatives each from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, and a representative from the coconut farmer and coconut-processing industry.
The bill said representatives from the coconut farmers’ sector shall be Filipino citizens, registered wit the PCA’s coconut farmers registry, have considerable experience and reputable track record in promoting coconut farmers’ interest and welfare, and nominated by coconut farmers’ organizations or cooperatives that are active for the past three years in farmer organization and development or community enterprise development.
They shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines, from a list of four nominees for each island grouping in accordance with the provisions of GOCC Governance Act of 2011.
The representative from the coconut-processing industry should also be a Filipino citizen, has considerable experience and reputable track record in promoting the coconut-processing industry and nominated by coconut-processing industry associations. Such representative shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of five nominees.
The measure also said the Governance Commission for GOCC shall coordinate with the PCA in promulgating a nomination and screening process for the PCA administrator and the nominees of representatives of coconut farmers and coconut-processing industry sectors in consultation with their respective organization or associations.
The bill authorizes the PCA to implement a reorganization for its staff, which shall include a dedicated unit for planning, evaluation of proposals and monitoring of the implementation of the programs and projects under the coconut farmers and industry trust fund within 90 days from effectivity of the proposed act.
The PCA shall submit a board-approved reorganization plan to the Governance Commission for review and approval.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday also reconsidered the proposed “Act Establishing the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Trust Fund and Providing for its Management and Utilization,” which had been ratified by both chambers of Congress, to separate provisions reconstituting the PCA.
The reconstitution issue of the PCA had been addressed by the approval of HB 8552.