Probe on P9.7-B coco levy sought

Lawmakers have called for an investigation into the alleged irregular use of the P9.7-billion coconut levy fund for a single big-ticket project.

At the Senate, the committee chairman of agriculture and food, Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. filed a resolution yesterday calling for an inquiry into reports that P8.4 billion of the coco levy fund was allocated for the Agusan Reserve Area Development Project, allegedly being pushed by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.

"It is incumbent upon the government to satisfactorily exercise transparency in the utilization and management of the coconut levy funds which are evidently affected with public interest," Magsaysay said.

At the House of Representatives, a parallel investigation into the issue is also being initiated by several lawmakers.

Congressmen wanted to look into the quarrel between Yap and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Evangeline Valbuena over the alleged use of P8.4 billion from the coco levy funds.

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano said the House should look into the controversy and find out why Yap and a Malacañang official identified as Renato Velasco are pressuring Valbuena to resign.

"It appears that there is something fishy in this multimillion-peso coco-levy funded project," Mariano said.

Another party-list lawmaker, Akbayan Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales, claimed she is at a loss as to why Yap and his Palace allies are after Valbuena’s neck.

"In her words, Valbuena wants transparency and participation. For such intentions, one cannot understand why there is so much heat coming Valbuena’s way, even all the way from Malacañang," Rosales said.

Rosales stressed Yap and Valbuena should be asked to explain their divergent views on the coconut replanting project.

The issue involved a huge allocation of the coco levy funds to be used for a single project in Agusan.

The P9.7 billion fund, which was collected from August 1973 to August 1982, is intended to support the farmers in the coconut industry.

Magsaysay, for his part, pointed out the use and proper management of the coco levy funds is among the primary concerns of the government.

He stressed the issue should be investigated for reasons of transparency and better governance.

"The coco levy funds must support the growth of the country’s coconut industry and the livelihood of our farmers to strongly improve our export industry and the economy," Magsaysay said.

"We cannot allow graft and corruption to siphon off the gains won by Filipino farmers as regards the coco levy funds after a tedious battle in the courts," he added.

Magsaysay said the allocation of a significant portion of the coco levy funds to a single project is "tantamount to shameful malversation of the coconut farmers’ fund."

The inquiry was made in response to the complaint made by Valbuena who claimed she was being pressured to resign by Yap for refusing to support the Agusan project.

Valbuena said that she did not support the project because it was putting too much of the fund into a single project in a single town.

She said the League of Provinces had also objected to the project, pointing out the huge allocation aside from Agusan del Sur not being a coconut-producing province.

In a statement, Yap claimed Valbuena has been misleading the public by her statements on the issue.

Yap denied claims that he is pressuring Valbuena to resign over her opposition to the project.

Yap also denied claims that he is pushing for the Agusan project.

"That is completely false. We are not pushing for this project. I am not even inclined to make any recommendation because this is a major project and the PCA has yet to complete the necessary staff work for its proper evaluation," he said.

Yap stressed the project had yet to be finalized by a designated task force which includes all industry stakeholders before presenting it to the President.