ANGELES CITY- Pres. Aquino was urged yesterday to certify as urgent a bill seeking to return the multi-billion coconut levy fund to its “real owners” and thereby hasten the recovery of farmers displaced by Supertyphoon Yolanda.
The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the claimants’ movement Coco Levy Funds Ibalik sa
Amin (Claim) issued this call amid reports that Malacanang “already downloaded to the Philippine Coconut Authority an initial fund of P2.8 billion for the rehabilitation and replanting program in Leyte and Samar provinces, on Panay Island, and northern Cebu and Bantayan Island hit by typhoon Yolanda.”
“We challenge Aquino to immediately certify as urgent House Bill 1327 to hasten the recovery of small coconut farmers in Yolanda-hit areas,” said KMP Deputy Secretary General Willy Marbella. Marbella noted that under the bill, “small coconut farmers can use their own money for their own benefit and recovery.”
HB 1327 or the Genuine Small Coconut Farmers’ Fund authored by Anakpawis Party- list Rep. Fernando Hicap
proposed that “the coco levy funds shall be used exclusively for the benefit of genuine small coconut farmers.”
KMP and Claim noted that HB 1327 is the “legislative counterpart” of the small coconut farmers’ proposal for the “cash distribution of the recovered funds.” The bill proposed that the funds “shall be apportioned to all coconut farmers without discrimination/prejudice in the form of cash and other social benefits including but not limited to, pension benefits; medical and hospitalization benefits; maternity benefits; and educational assistance including scholarships.”
The Anakpawis bill also sought “to finance socio-economic projects initiated by small coconut farmers and their organizations and/or cooperatives that shall primarily focus on: livelihood programs and projects meant to provide additional incomes to small coconut farmers; small and medium-scale coconut enterprises, marketing and trading mechanisms, inventions and innovations of machineries and equipment for the development of high-quality coconut and improvement of local coconut production; and, programs that would provide loan facilities for small coconut farmers.”
Marbella, also the Claim national coordinator, warned the Aquino government against “scheming to plunder the P2.8 billion rehabilitation funds.” “It’s been more than two months since Yolanda and small coconut farmers are
yet to receive direct rehabilitation funds from the Aquino government,” Marbella chided warning:
“We will closely keep an eye on the P2.8 billion rehabilitation fund for coconut farmers. Plunderers will face the small coconut farmers’ fury and we will hold them criminally liable for every peso they will steal from Yolanda victims,” he said.
