With 221 members voting in the affirmative, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill declaring the coconut levy assets as a trust fund and providing for its management and utilization that will ensure benefits for coconut farmers and workers.

The six members of the Makabayan bloc voted against House Bill 8136 as they pointed out that the legislative measure will only further deny the farmers and coconut plantation workers access to the funds collected during the martial law years.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco lauded his colleagues for the passage of the measure, saying that this will be a “fitting Christmas gift to more than three million coconut farmers who stand to benefit from the proposed coco levy trust fund.”

Velasco said HB 8136 seeks to let poor coconut farmers benefit from taxes collected from them decades ago, now worth around P76 billion in assets.

“This is a monumental day for more than three million coconut farmers, who have long been denied of the fund that rightfully belongs to them,” Velasco said.

The House leader added: “We look forward seeing HB 8136 soon become a law and help change the lives of poor coconut farmers and their beneficiaries.”

In explaining her negative vote, Gabriela Women’s Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas said that instead of supporting “activities that would benefit coconut farmers and the develop the industry” the coconut levy fund collected during the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos financed the business activities of those who handled it.

“We need a law that will genuinely return the Coco Levy funds to the hands of our farmers,”said Brosas.

Authors of HB 8136 said passage of the measure will assure the coconut industry, especially farm workers, vast improvement in terms of modernization and better livelihood opportunities.

HB 8136 is a consolidation of 16 different legislative proposals filed by Deputy Speaker Michael Romero (1Pacman Partylist) and Rufus Rodriguez (CDI, Cagayan de Oro City), together with Reps. Jericho Jonas Nograles (PBA, Partylist); Jayjay Suarez (Lakas-CMD, Quezon); Aleta Suarez (NPC, Quezon); Wilfredo Mark Enverga (NPC, Quezon); Romeo Jalosjos Jr. (PDP-Laban, Zamboanga del Sur) and Ian Pau Dy (NPC, Isabela), among other lawmakers.

The bill proposes to unite all assets and benefits coming from the coconut levy which will be held in a Trust Fund to be used to rehabilitate and modernize the coconut industry and ultimately benefit coconut farmers and their family.

Romero cited the Supreme Court ruling declaring the coconut levy fund and coconut levy assets as government funds that must be disbursed only to benefit coconut farmers and develop the industry.

For his part, Rodriguez said it is high time the funds are “appropriated for the benefit of the industry and the workers who toiled to make a major contribution to Philippine economy.

The bill directs the Philippine Coconut Authority to submit to the Office of the President a Coconut Framers and Industry Development Plan in order to pinpoint how the funds will be spent.

Romero said the bill also provides for the annual utilization of the trust fund to include shared facilities program; farm improvement through diversification and or intercropping; development of hybrid coconut seed farms and nurseries; empowerment of coconut farmers organization and their cooperatives and scholarship program.

Enverga defended the measure during the virtual committee meeting yesterday, stressing that the bill will pave the way for the modernization of the coconut industry and the improvement of the lives of millions of Filipinos whose livelihood relies on the product.