The establishment of a Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund drew closer to become a reality following the approval on Wednesday of the funding requirement of the bill providing for such fund.The House Committee on Appropriations swiftly approved the proposed budgetary requirements for the implementation of the proposed Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act that is contained in 16 legislative proposals pending before the Committee on Agriculture.
Enverga, together with Deputy Speakers Michael Romero and Rufus Roriguez ; and Reps. Aleta Suarez ; Jericho Jonas Nograles ; Alan Peter Cayetano and Romeo Jalosjos Jr. , among others.He stressed that passage of the bill is part of the campaign pledge of President Rodrigo Duterte when he ran and won the presidency.
Suarez noted that the Supreme Court had ruled that the coconut levy fund and coconut levy assets are public funds and must be used only for the intended purpose of benefitting all coconut farmers and and pursue development in the coconut industry. For his part, Jalosjos said the creation of the trust fund has long been overdue, pointing out that coconut farmers have been deprived ot is utilization after being “declared conclusively owned” by the government.