President Duterte wants to unlock the P74-billion coconut-levy funds to help coconut farmers and their families, according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III.
He said that as soon as the Supreme Court (SC) lifts the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the coco-levy fund, a new legislation will be passed allowing the government to release the money to coconut farmers.
Dominguez explained that a law is needed for the funds to be used by farmers in coconut-producing areas for such projects as support programs and scholarships for their dependents in state colleges and universities.
“I’ve discussed this with the President, and we believe that legislation is necessary to use the coco-levy funds for the benefit of farmers in the coconut-producing areas. The coco-levy fund right now is a little over P74 billion,”
Dominguez said.
During a recent congressional hearing, Dominguez was asked by Sen. Francis N. Pangilinan regarding the coco-levy funds. The finance chief pointed out that legislation is necessary for the government to use the funds for the benefit of farmers and their families.
“There is a TRO in the SC and we will have to wait until it is lifted. The government can manage the funds but its utilization can only be made by law…. And I will support using these funds to provide scholarships, maybe in the state colleges in these areas and, of course, other kinds of support for the coconut-producing communities,” he added.
In an earlier forum, the finance chief said the investment had been discussed at a recent Cabinet meeting, and the President has expressed his preference to use the fund for the exclusive benefit of coconut farmers and
their families.
“We have discussed that at the Cabinet, and, you know, it’s quite a complicated issue, but we are going to make sure that the funds in the national treasury….will be used exclusively for the benefit of the coconut farmers,” he said.
Because the fund is already with the national treasury and cannot be spent without congressional approval, a new legislation should be enacted.
The coco-levy fund was collected from coconut farmers during the Marcos regime, and has been locked up for decades in legal cases over ownership issues.
“Now, we cannot say which particular coconut farmers [are the beneficiaries] because this thing happened 40 years ago. So the use of the funds will be dedicated to the areas where coconut is a major part of the economy,” Dominguez added.