THE Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and the claimants movement Coco Levy Fund Ibalik sa Amin or CLAIM on Sunday pushed for the creation of a Genuine Small Coconut Farmers’ Fund and a “Small Coconut Farmers’ Council” to protect the P72 billion in coco levy money held by the government and “to ensure that cash and other socio-economic benefits go to small coconut farmers.”
In a statement, KMP secretary-general Antonio Flores said “establishing small coconut farmers’ control over the funds is crucial for the legitimate owners to benefit from their own money that includes cash and other social benefits.
“It is a political necessity and a moral obligation to create a ‘Genuine Small Coconut Farmers’ Fund to be administered and managed by a ‘Small Coconut Farmers’ Council mainly composed of small coconut farmers themselves to protect the rights and interest of small coconut farmers.
“These mechanisms will prevent a repeat of the state-sponsored plunder and continuing denial of the coco levy fund to coco farmers.”
Coconut farmers claim that the coconut levy fund was forcibly taken away from them during Martial Law.
CLAIM’s Arvin Borromeo said the farmers’ fund and council would ensure that the coconut farmers’ money would not be depleted.
“The coco levy fund collection was a scam, a nationwide extortion and schematic plunder orchestrated by the Marcos-Cojuangco clique,” Borromeo said. Sandy Araneta
“Having control [through the farmers’ fund and council) shall also pave the way for the turnover of the coconut oil mills and other coco levy-funded assets to small coconut farmers because these assets were acquired using our money.”
The KMP and CLAIM say the cash distribution demand is not a dole and that the small coconut farmers should be the primary beneficiaries of the fund.
“All small coconut farmers should benefit from the fund including the heirs of coconut farmers who already died. It should not be limited to those who have receipts or certificates,” Borromeo said.
He said the problem of identifying the genuine small coconut farmers could be resolved through coordination and facilitation with local government units, particularly at the village level.