The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) must be revamped so it could efficiently manage and spend the P100-billion coconut-levy fund, a House deputy speaker said on Thursday.
Deputy Speaker Sharon S. Garin of Aambish-Owa Party-list said the current extent of power and authority of the PCA is incapable of properly overseeing the use of the coconut-levy trust fund.
Garin argued that the agency’s powers under Presidential Decree 1468 “reflects the realities of 40 years ago and the agency can only do so much with its meager budget.”
“The appeal to this body is, if we want the industry to improve, thereby improving the lives of the coconut farmers, we need to fix the agency that is supposed to do that,” Garin said in a statement on Thursday.
Garin, the author of House Bill (HB) 3537, expressed concern that the PCA would not be able to implement the P5-billion annual coco-levy trust fund disbursal and additional P10-billion annual allocation for the coconut industry due to lack of manpower.
“Under the proposed measure, the PCA shall be equipped with a solid and multifaceted mandate, which focuses on developmental, governmental, regulatory, research and development, and corporate powers and function,” she said.
Another key provision of the bill is allowing more representation from the farmers, processors, traders, researchers and academe over government representatives, according to Garin. Under HB 3537, seven seats out of the 11 PCA board seats would be allocated to the industry stakeholders.
PCA Administrator Romulo J. de la Rosa told the BusinessMirror that there is a need to expand its manpower to allow the agency to fulfill its mandate and implement the objectives of the coconut-levy trust fund.
“There is a need to beef up the capacity of the PCA to manage all these funds. Because right now, the PCA is operating on a very skeletal work force,” de la Rosa told the BusinessMirror in an interview in August.
“After the rationalization plan implemented in 2013, our approved plantilla has been only around 850 people. Our corporate income at the moment could only support about 500 of the 850. Can you imagine how handicapped [we are] as far as human resources of the PCA is concerned?” he added.
Under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act approved by the bicameral conference committee in August, the P100-billion coconut-levy fund would be invested in government securities, such as Treasury bills, to earn at least 2 percent to 3 percent annually.
Sen. Cynthia A. Villar said the fund will be managed by a “reconstituted” PCA instead of a separate committee. The reconstituted PCA means that the board would be comprised of four government representatives, one industry representative and six coconut farmers.
According to Villar, the trust fund will be used accordingly annually: 30 percent for shared facilities; 30 percent for farm development; 15 percent for empower of farmers’ organizations; 15 percent for scholarship and 10 percent of health benefits of
farmers.
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