ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Long-delayed': Lee pushes for health benefits of Pinoy coconut farmers 

'Long-delayed': Lee pushes for health benefits of Pinoy coconut farmers 

Published Oct 22, 2024 01:15 am

At A Glance

  • The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) must expedite the implementation of the "long-delayed" health benefits for coconut farmers, AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee said.

jakob-owens-jTAw0a1BqKw-unsplash.jpg
(Unsplash)


The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) must expedite the implementation of the "long-delayed" health benefits for coconut farmers.

Thus, said AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee, who noted that the benefits were mandated by Republic Act (RA) No. 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) Act of 2021.

The law was meant to ease the plight of coconut farmers through support on their health and livelihood.

“Dapat agaran nang maipatupad ang mga benepisyong pangkalusugan para sa mga magniniyog na matagal na dapat naipagkaloob gamit ang pondo para sa kanila. Sila ang pundasyon ng isa sa mga pangunahing industriya sa bansa," Lee said.

(The long-delayed health benefits for coconut farmers must be implemented using the funds that had been allocated to them. They comprise the foundation of one of the country’s, main industries.)

"Mapapalakas pa lalo ang industriya ng niyog kung pinapangalagaan ang kalusugan at kabuhayan ng mga magniniyog,” added the senatorial aspirant.

(By taking care of the health and livelihood of coconut farmers, we will further strengthen the industry.)

Citing President Ferdinand Marcos’ goal for the country to become the world’s top coconut exporter, the Bicol lawmaker reiterated: “Kung seryoso tayo na maabot ang layuning ito, hindi na dapat patagalin pa ang pagpapatupad ng mga dagdag na mga serbisyong pangkalusugan para sa ating mga magniniyog.”

(If we're serious in achieving this goal, then we shouldn't further delay the implementation of additional health service for our coconut farmers.)

It can be recalled last March 1 Lee had a meeting with the leadership of PhilHealth and PCA to discuss the importance of informing the coconut farmers and providing them the health benefits that they deserve saying:

On April 4,, Lee filed House Resolution (HR) No. 1673 urging the lower chamber to thoroughly investigate the delayed implementation of the health and medical services for the coconut farmers and their families prescribed by the CFITF Act and Executive Order (EO) No. 172.

Lee also filed HR No. 954 on May 9, 2023 upon discovering that only 34 percent of the total Coco Levy Fund was disbursed for fiscal year 2022 to provide grants and subsidies for the livelihood and welfare of coconut farmers.

These measures are results of Lee’s constant collaboration with PhilHealth and PCA in crafting policies to ensure that Filipino coconut farmers will get what they deserve.

Related Tags

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Wilbert T. Lee PhilHealth Coconut
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.