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Outgoing Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Tuesday, June 14 said there is a need to amend Republic Act No. 11524 or the Coconut Farmers Industry Trust Fund Act in order to ensure that farmers are well-represented.

Senator Cynthia Villar on Sunday, June 12 said she is optimistic that the release of the P75-billion coco levy funds would help spur the development of the Philippine coconut industry and help the 3.5 million farmers that stand to benefit from President Duterte’s signing of Executive Order 172 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP).

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, June 9 expressed belief that any amount of disinformation and historical revisionism would change the facts that the coco levy funds that were intended to develop during the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos were plundered.

Though she is one of the initial authors of the proposed Coconut Levy Fund law when she was still a member of the 16th Congress, presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said she has objections to the new version signed by President Duterte into law earlier this year.

Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) vice presidential candidate Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has lauded President Duterte for fulfilling his campaign promise to return the coconut levy fund to the nation’s coconut farmers.

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.

The mass registration of coconut farmers who will benefit from the forthcoming release of the P100-billion coco levy fund will be a continuous process.

Senators have pressed the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to extend its deadline and streamline the processes for the registration of coconut farmers.

Groups of coconut farmers fear another scam might happen in the process of the Philippine government’s implementation of the Coco Levy Act, the law that should pave the way for the release of the P100 billion worth of funds and assets collected through the infamous coco levy fund scam more than 40 years ago.

Less than two weeks before the deadline of mass registration of coconut farmers, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the lead agency tasked to implement the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act or Coco Levy Act, is now 41 percent complete in the validation of the National Coconut Farmers Registry System (NCFRS).

Farmers want representation in the Coco Levy’s Trust Fund Management Committee, which is the legally mandated committee tasked to decide on the disposition of the P100-billion worth of coco levy fund and assets.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) will be needing additional personnel to fulfill its role in the newly passed Republic Act (RA) 11524, also known as the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act or Coco Levy Act.            

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) already started the mass registration of coconut farmers to update the National Coconut Farmers Registry System (NCFRS), which, once completed, will serve as the government’s master list of beneficiaries for the P100-billion coco levy fund.  

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Benjamin Madrigal assured that the farmers’ representatives that will join the reconstituted PCA Board will be selected solely by farmers without the influence of the government.  

Nearly three weeks since the Coco Levy Act or Republic Act (RA) 11524 was passed, the reconstituted board of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has met for the first time to discuss the important things that need to be addressed prior to the actual release of the P100-billion coco levy fund.   

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will request an additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to fulfill some of its deliverables under the Coco Levy Act or Republic Act (RA) 11524, including the task of providing health and medical protection to coconut farmers.

Only representatives from three government agencies – Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Department of Justice (DOJ) – will have the final say on how the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) will be managed and use.

The proposed Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act or Coco Levy Act, which will pave the way for the release and the utilization of the P100-billion coco levy fund, will lapse into law next week.