PCA on scale infestation

This is in reply to the comment of Ms. Sara Soliven (The Philippine STAR, May 12, 2014) on the actions of the PCA against scale.

1. We disagree with her comment that we cannot even save dying coconut trees. If we go by Ms. De Guzman’s figures that the spread of diseases is 15 km per month in all directions then the infestation is already in Bicol Region if there is no intervention by PCA and other stakeholders;

2. We have no record of import of coco juice by the Philippines. If she is talking of Vita Coco, an American brand, it is not imported because the coconuts it need would be sourced in GenSan;

3. We do not panic because previous infestations took more years to control than scale. To cite, brontispa (2005-2010) which outbreak was nationwide took five years to control while cadang-cadang was here since 1924, affected 40 million trees and killed 30 million before the number of affected went down to 800,000.

4. We disagree that the scale insect spread all over Calabarzon. The following figures were presented by the PCA in the hearing last May 12, of the Senate committee on agriculture chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar. Present were Sen. Ralph Recto, Secretary Francis Pangilinan, Gov. L. Rey Villafuerte, Fr. Robert Reyes, Cito Beltran, the mayor of Liliw, Laguna, former Usec. Ernesto Ordoñez and coconut farmers from Batangas, Laguna and Quezon.

Coconut Scale Infestation

Impact on the Company (2012)

                           Total Trees               Total Trees    Infestation

                            Planted                    Infested              (%)

Philippines         344,377,121                                         0.24

Calabarzon          58,441,505               1,034,421           3.62

These figures were not challenged by those who attended the hearings.

Thus of the total trees of Calabarzon only 3.62 percent have been infested or 0.24 percent of the national total.

5. The report that there will be quarantine is true but it is not the duty of PCA to put up and man a quarantine. It is the BPI’s;

6. It is not true that PCA did not give BT Global a chance. Several tests were made. But PCA did not take it because its phytotoxicity was too high.

7. Mrs. De Guzman’s number of dead coco trees in Calabarzon which is 2,000,000 is an exaggeration since only 1,044,421 are infested and only about 600,000 died.

Aside from this, not all towns of Batangas and Laguna were infested. During the Senate hearing, the municipal agriculturist of San Juan, Batangas narrated how they succeeded in fighting scale. About 10 other towns of Batangas are not infested, while all of Quezon towns have low to medium infestations.

With respect to frescohan, De Guzman should notice that in the 2014 budget of the PCA, there is P305 million for at least six integrated hubs. The project manager is Fr. Ed dela Torre, brother-in-law of PCA director Villariba. Its purpose is to make coconut farmers co-owners of those hubs which main products are VCO, coco sugar, coco flour and other frescos. In this way they will have additional income other than from coconut oil. — EUCLIDES G. FORBES, Administrator, Philippine Coconut Authority