"What we have here is a monumental piece of legislation that is going to change the lives of many of our coconut farmers and their families."
The Quezon Province is undeniably one of the top contributors to the development of the coconut industry. Even before the declaration of Philippine independence, the province has been one of the biggest producers of coconut and coconut products in the country. The coconut has been deeply embedded in the province’s historical and cultural heritage. The Niyogyugan Festival is established and annually celebrated since 2012 to laud and promote the province’s flourishing coconut industry.
A vast majority of Quezon’s land area is devoted to coconut farming. However, strong typhoons in the past years greatly affected many of these plantations. Up to now, not all coconut plantations have recovered. Other challenges that posed threats to the industry were the cocolisap infestation from 2010 to 2015 where around 2 million to 3 million coconut trees were attacked, and the inevitable aging of many of our coconut trees. Thus, there is a dire need for support to our ailing industry.
At the most opportune time, our legislators have finally approved the much awaited bill on the establishment of the Coconut Levy Trust Fund. The Senate has earlier passed on third and final reading its own version of the bill. We are most thankful as the bill, which was authored by Rep. Aleta Suarez among others, and also advocated by yours truly during the last Congress, is finally getting closer again to enactment.
Through this bill, I fervently hope that the coconut industry in Quezon province would be given the necessary support it deserves. We cannot deny that Quezon coconut farmers have a significant, if not the largest, share in the coconut levy fund. Hence, it is only right that our local farmers benefit from their hard-earned tax contributions. We need to modernize coconut farming and rehabilitate coconut plantations in the province in order to revive the livelihood of these farmers. Aging coconut trees must be replaced, and while farmers are awaiting the maturity of these coconuts, we need to provide them with alternatives. We need to develop resilient and high-value crops for our farmers so they can have continuous and supplemental sources of livelihood that survive rainy seasons. At present, many of our local farmers have started exploring these alternatives, but we need to provide them with proper assistance and training to stimulate and jumpstart these initiatives for the long-term.
The bill provides for many other types of assistance to coconut farmers and their families. I am hopeful and eager that these programs will help uplift the living conditions and economic capabilities of our Quezon coconut farmers. Once this bill is passed, I request for the swift implementation of this law as many farmers are in need of assistance in this COVID-19 pandemic. The passage of this law may perhaps be one of the best things that could turn things around this year.
What we have here is a monumental piece of legislation that is going to change the lives of many of our coconut farmers and their families who have been waiting for decades for the return of their investment. I call on the President to heed the appeal of our hardworking coconut farmers and swiftly approve the bill. Five decades already passed, it is only just that we give them what is rightfully due them. After all, these coconut farmers brought the country into the spotlight as the second leading coconut producers and exporter in the world. For Quezon farmers, the coconut has brought them life.
