The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of some sections of the Republic Act (RA) No. 11524 or an Act Creating the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) are now in effect.
But farmers are claiming that no consultation was done so they can raise their concerns about the contents of the IRR.
Joey Faustino, leader of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement and KILUS Magniniyog, said on Thursday that the Trust Fund Management Committee (TFMC) did not reply to the issues that the coconut farmers raised about the draft of the IRR for Sections 9 to 11 of RA 11524.
“The TFMC did not even take the time to reply to issues we had raised. I don’t think they intended at all to generate opinions at all. The release of the IRR was merely for compliance,” Faustino said.
“There was no consultation. We learned that the draft was it, the final version ,” he added.
The creation of TFMC is mandated under RA 11524 to oversee the management and utilization of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF), which is where the P100-billion coco levy fund and assets will be deposited.
Right now, TFMC is composed of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
In a phone interview, Agriculture Secretary William Dar clarified that only certain sections of RA 11524, such as Sections 9 to 11, will have an IRR, while the rest of its provisions will be self-executing or will be implemented the way it was written in the law.
On Thursday, the IRR of Sections 9 to 11 of RA 1154 — which is mainly about the utilization of the CFITF; the formulation of TFMC; and the designation of the Department of Finance (DOF) as the Trust Fund Manager — finally took effect after being published in a newspaper of general circulation last June 10.
"After many years of intense political debate, it was only during the Duterte administration that the Coco Levy Law was finally enacted. This marks a promise fulfilled by the President who, in his 2019 SONA , vowed to return these funds taken arbitrarily from the pockets of Filipinos back to its true owner,” Dominguez, elected TFMC Chairman, said in a statement.
The IRR’s effectivity came more than a month after TFMC first published the draft of the IRR and asked for public comments regarding this. The deadline for submission of the comments was June 3, 2021.
In a separate interview, National Treasurer Leah de Leon said there was no need for a consultation because the TFMC already sought comments on the IRR.
She also said that most of the comments submitted by farmers pertained to the crafting of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP), which is already beyond the scope of the IRR.
To recall, RA 11524 mandated the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to craft and submit the CFIDP to the President for his approval. CFIDP will serve as the government’s ultimate guide for the disbursement of the coco levy fund.
One of the concerns of the coconut farmers is the lack of information as to how the farmers will directly benefit from several coco levy assets such as Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) – Oil Mills Group and the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), and if coconut farmers will actually have a say in the disposal of these assets.
CONFED Executive Director Charlie Avila also questioned the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to approve the acquisition of Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) of the majority of shares of stock in the UCPB.
Avila pointed out that the UCPB has its own Charter, own purpose, own funding origin, which is the coco levy fund, while LANDBANK has a different charter and funding origin, which is the government’s general funds.
“The UCPB is still as of now the only possible coconut farmers’ bank. It was meant to be that,” he added.
Faustino said the farmers’ groups will come up with a position paper questioning the process of how the IRR was passed, as well as raising the potential negative impact of the merger of UCPB and LANDBANK to coconut farmers.