A 'nutty' proposition/ Loren, Angara - teachers' pets

With President Aquino enthusiastically endorsing the expansion of buko juice production as a huge dollar earner for the country during his recent visit to the US, creative local government executives and entrepreneurs have swung into action. The first to respond to the challenge is Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte, who was shown smiling smugly in a newspaper photo as he announced the groundbreaking of a coconut juice processing plant to be put up by US-based Vita Coco in Camarines Sur.

LRay’s enthusiasm is laudable. But can the province supply the huge volume of coco juice to make it the supply base of the juice to be exported to the US?

One wonders if it is practical for the province to export buko juice, and stop exporting oil made from mature coconut nuts. As it is, the bulk of Camarines Sur’s coconut harvest from 118,045 hectares is utilized to make copra, the dried meat of mature coconuts which is processed to make edible and industrial oils, as well as animal feeds.

In 2010, Camarines Sur produced 93,833 metric tons of copra from those 118,045 hectares of land planted to coconuts.

Local economists cite realistic figures. Copra is a much higher-value product than buko juice, with copra having an all-time high farm-gate average price of P46.75 per kilogram last year, up from P18/kg in 2009 or a whopping price differential of P28.25 per kilogram.

On a per nut basis, a mature coconut or niyog sells for P25 per piece while a young coconut sells from P10 to P15 apiece. And if the price of young coconut soars to P25 per piece, that can only be for a short while because of the artificial price bump created by the coco juice craze. Logic dictates that if a farmer earns more from selling mature nuts, why should he sell young nuts for their juice which gives them lower returns?

There’s the matter of the long period of gestation of trees to meet the demand for buko juice of Vita Coco. It takes a coconut tree three years from planting to start yielding nuts at an average of 50 to 80 a year. It will take three years before enough trees can mature enough to produce the volume of juices needed by Coco Vita. That’s assuming the hybrid used is good enough and disease-free.

Then there’s the question of whether the province will sacrifice hectares of land planted to palay and sugar cane in favor of planting coconut trees. Right now, the province has 326,125 hectares of total arable land which is planted to palay.

Let’s not forget too that Camarines Sur has 326,125 hectares of total arable land which is also planted with palay and sugar cane. As such, the province cannot afford to plant more coconuts outside the land already planted with its ageing coconut stock, lest its palay and other crop harvests suffer.

What about using the juice of mature coconuts — the meat of which is processed into copra — which is said to be done and shipped in tetra packs from Brazil to the US? The taste of mature coconut juice is very different from that of the young coconut, and people with discriminating taste will know the difference, and refuse to drink the un-buko like taste of mature coconut juice.  

A proposition has been made about buko juice being sourced from the coconut plantation of Fiesta Coco equity in Misamis Occidental, and its being processed into tetra packs in Camarines Sur.

An expensive proposition — which may make Vita Coco think twice about putting up a buko juice processing plant in Camarines Sur.

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Two senators expressed support for teachers through their legislative agenda during the celebration of World Teachers’ Day yesterday. Because of their continued espousal of teachers’ causes, I won’t be surprised if they are called “teachers’ pets.”

Sen. Loren Legarda urged Congress to approve the Integrated Magna Carta of Teachers and Non-Teaching Personnel Act.

 “Time and again, we have raised the many concerns of our teachers that need to be addressed — just compensation, sufficient funds for education sector, reforms in GSIS, health care program, and job security, among many others. A campaign to show our appreciation for our mentors is a fitting tribute to them, but what they really need is the kind of recognition that goes beyond lip service,” Legarda stressed.

Senate Bill 10, she said, ensures for teachers and non-teaching personnel “security of tenure, timely payment of their salaries on a monthly basis regardless of semestral or summer vacations, annual salary adjustment to mitigate the effects of inflation, and gratuity benefits for those who retire before reaching the compulsory retirement age of 60.

“Filipino teachers deserve to be recognized as heroes for they give more despite receiving less. Despite the limitations in the country’s education system, they strive to make a difference in the lives of their students. If we are to advance the long-standing concerns of our teachers, the passage of this measure is a strong indication of our commitment,” she said.

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Sen. Edgardo J. Angara expressed the same concern for teachers, whom he described as “our unsung heroes who, day in and out, dedicate their lives to shaping the Filipino youth, despite low wages and the many lacks in our educational system. “

Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, is well-known for his advocacy of reforms in teacher policy and education in the country. He is author of the Philippine Teachers’ Professionalization Act (RA 7836), Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act (RA 6728), and the Strengthening Teacher Education in the Philippines (RA 7784).

In the 15th Congress, he continues his commitment to strengthening teacher support through Senate Bills 2063, amending The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, and 2035, or the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act. These measures will provide additional benefits to teachers through scholarship grants, free medical treatment and pension.

“It is clear that the achievements of our country are due in great part to the perseverance of our educators. Government, in turn, should guarantee them adequate support through the expansion of benefits and incentives, and the strengthening of professional development programs for teachers,” urged Angara, former President of the University of the Philippines.

 He also underscored the importance of improving teacher education. “In order to improve the performance of students and graduates, we must first upgrade the training received by our teachers. We should improve our standards to avoid wasting our human resources.”

He said that last April, only 5,221 elementary teachers out of 33,023 examinees (15.81%), 35 Accelerated Teacher Education Program (A.T.E.P.) graduates out of 339 examinees (10.32%) and 7,690 secondary teachers out of 29,267 examinees (26.28%) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers.

“Teachers are our primary partners in nation building. We ought to recognize the exemplary teachers in our schools, and continuously encourage them to keep their morale high,” he said.

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