'LAMP won't use coco levy for polls'

A Cabinet member denied yesterday reports that the government is intentionally delaying the release of the P50-billion coconut levy fund so that it could be used as a campaign kitty of administration bets in next year's elections.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio Morales said such reports are mere speculation.

Morales, who is also being eyed by President Estrada to be the vice chairman of a proposed coco trust fund, said an executive order releasing the levy to the farmers was supposed to be signed on April 19.

But it was postponed on request of a multisectoral task force, which is still studying how to distribute the funds to more than one million coconut farmers.

Morales said it will take at least a month for this task force to come up with a decision.

About two months ago, the President met with former Ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco and Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Clara Lobregat -- two key figures in the local coconut industry -- to hammer out a new executive order that aims to lift the sequestration on the coco levy.

Cojuangco is chairman of San Miguel Corp., where coco funds were allegedly used to buy the food and beverage company's controlling shares.

Lobregat, meanwhile, heads the Coconut Confederation of the Philippines (Cocofed) -- a cooperative of farmers who are the registered owners of the funds.

According to Mr. Estrada, Cojuangco and Lobregat have initially agreed not to touch the entire P50-billion fund.

But the two would very much like to use its P5-billion annual interest rate as a revolving fund to finance government projects as well as rehabilitate the moribund coconut industry, the President said.

The P5-billion fund will be managed by a 10-member board that will be headed by the President himself.

Mr. Estrada was supposed to sign the executive order in March, but Morales said "certain matters" had to be resolved first.

Coconut farmers nationwide have been calling for the immediate signing of the executive order, saying the delay may derail efforts to resuscitate the coconut industry.