Coco Levy Senate Hearing - Transcript
Coco Levy Senate Hearing - Transcript
SENATE
Pasay City
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
Date: Time :
Venue: -
Pasay City
Agenda: SBN 2978 - Establishment of the Coconut Farmers Trust Fund (Sen. Enrile)
@ Act (Sen. Angara) \ SR 302 - inquiry of the Condition of Filipino Farmers (Sen. Villar) PSR 587 - Inquiry of the State of Philippine Coconut Industry (Sen. Villar)
ATTENDANCE
SENATORS PRESENT:
- Senate President
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Committee Agriculture and Food joint with Committees on Trade And Commerce and Finance Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Page 2
GUESTS/RESOURCE PERSONS:
Mr. Joel S. Rudinas -.Undersecretary, Field Operations, Department of
Agriculture (DA)
.Mr..Edilberto M. De Luna Mr. Euclides G. Forbes Ms. Karen Singson - Field-Operations, DA @ Administrator, Philippine
PMO- DOF
Chief of Staff, Presidential Commission on Good Governance
(PCGG)
Mr. Jesus L. Arranza
@ President and CEO, Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) @ President and CEO, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) Senior Vice-President and Corporate Secretary, United Coconut Planters Bank President, UCPB CIIF Foundation Vice-president, Nagkakaisang Ugnayan ng mga Magsasaka sa
Niyugan (NIUGAN)
Mr. Vicente Fabe Chairman Emeritus Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahan g Magsasaka
(PAKISAMA)
Atty. Oscar F. Santos
(COIR)
Chairman, Pambansang Kaisahan Ng mga Magbubukid ng Pilipinas @
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Committee Agriculture and Food joint with Committees on Trade And Commerce and Finance Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Page 3
SENATORS' STAFF:
Mr. Ms.
Mr: E.P. Miko Nacino Ms. Julie Laconico Ms. Nyl Mendoza
- O/S Angara - O/S Pangilinan - O/S Recto - O/S Pangilinan - O/SP Estrada
SENATE SECRETARIAT:
@Mr.'Horace. R. Cruda - Cite.' Secretary
-Ctte. Stenographer
-do-do-do@ Leg.Com.Clerk -do-
Mr. Hizar B. Sarmiento Ms. Rubirosa F. Manalo @ Mr. Abigael d.G. Olson Mr. J. Alzadon
@ Operator
@ Leg. Page -do-
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SENATE
Pasay City
Sen. A.B Padilla Room Senate of the Philippines, Pasay City AGENDA: S.B. N. 2050, S.B N. 2978, P.S R. 302, & P.S R. 587
Representedby
4.SEN.EDGARDOJ.ANGARA 5.SEN.LOREN B.LEGARDA 6.SEN.GREGORIOB.HONASANII 7.SENRALPHG.RECTO 8.SEN.PANFILOM.LACSON 9.SEN.FERDINANDR. MARCOS,JR. 10.SEN.AOUILINO"KOKO"PIMENTELIII 11.SEN.MIRIAMDEFENSORSANTIAGO
12.SEN. MANUEL"LITO"M. LAPID
0004
SENATE SECRETARIAT
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CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD, CALLED THE HEARING TO ORDER.
Committees on Finance and Trade and Commerce. We would like to call this meeting to order. I'm informed that Senator Enrile will be joining
us later on. He is the principal author of the measure that we are now tackling. We would like to thank our resource persons who are here with us.
Some are still on their way but I'd like to get things going and not
waste the time waiting for the others to come forward or to join us. the meantime, we have the following here: Well, before we acknowledge the resource persons, we have, one, two, three, four measures that are being tackled Senate Bill in today's meeting: In
This is ' Senator 'Enrile; Senate Bill 2050, Coconut Emergency Measures Act; Senate Resolution 302, Inquiry on the Condition of Filipino Farmers. Is it farmers or coconut farmers? Resolution 587, Inquiry on And then Proposed Senate
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For the record, the following resource persons are with us this morning: Field Operations for the DA, Asec. Edilberto de Luna; Mr.
Euclides Fo.rbes of the PCA, our'administrator; Chief Privatization Officer of the Privatization and Management Finance, we have- Ms. Karen Singson. Office of the Department of Hello Karen; Atty. Christine
Antonio, Deputy Privatization Officer. Is that you? Yes, that's you. Mr. Eduardo Mora, chairman ng Pambansan'g Kaisahan ng
Magbubukid sa Pilipinas; Mr. Jess Arranza, CEO and president, Coconut Industry Investment Fund; Atty. Jose Barcelon, senior vice-president and corporate secretary of UCPB; Mr. Edgardo Amistad, president UCPB CIIF Foundation; Atty.1 Oca Santos, former congressman and chairman emeritus, Coconut Industry Reform Movement or COIR. Isa pong haligi sa industriya ng magbubuko o magnunyog. Taga-Quezon po ito. So the others who will come, we will just acknowledge. Again, for the record, this Committee is'interested to look into how a portion of the coco levy funds based on the Senate bills and measures now referred to us--what we are to do with these pending measures in the light of the plight of our coconut farmers, and the industry. As Chairman of the Agriculture and Food Committee in the Senate, our primary concern here is how we are to address the challenges of the
'@
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of our coconut farmers and how do we raise their incomes and make the industry more profitable, well, primarily for the-coconut farmers and their families. Malaki ang coconut industry. It is larger than the rice@in terms of hectarage, it's larger than rice; in terms of-number of farmers, it is also larger than the rice/palay industry. It is the biggest export product, And therefore, we are looking
@
We would like to acknowledge the presence of our former Senate President, former chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, former secretary of Agriculture and a current farmer as well, the author of Coconut Emergency Measures Act, Senator Angara. For the record, he is joining us this morning. Thank you Senator Angara.So', we are looking at the aspect of how these measures will address the challenges .facing the coconut industry. How we are to level up the
quality of@well, the productivity of our coconut farmers and how do we address' their plight in terms of improving the quality of their lives. Because, ultimately, all that we do in terms of agriculture should redound to being able to ensure that the quality of life of the primary producers-,
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our fanners, are addressed. There is a saying that@or a tenet that for us to address food security, we must secure'our farmers and agriculture. So, although, @ of course, the coconut industry has a lot of
potentials still in terms of@if the support is given in terms of'research, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of technology, we can actually be a@ more than just, you know, a lead exporter. We can be the world power with respect to coconut and its related industries. like to hear the positions of our resource persons. .'But before that, Senator Angara, would you like to have an opening statement? Thank you. SEN. ANGARA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let me greet our former colleague, Governor Santos, and PCA With that, we would
head. . Magandang umaga, Oca. Ang atin hong kasalakuyang PCA head, si Atty. Forbes;- Asec. de Luna, si Jess, and Atty. Barcelon. hong kayong mga kaibigan natjn sa coconut industry. I think as you put it, Mr. Chairman, coconut suddenly has become so valuable nowadays. President, when he And that's highlighted by the fact that the At lahat.na
came back,
water'. And two weeks after, I went to the United States and tried to look for that man he talked to, who convinced him that coconut water is such a valuable commodity. And I found him. He is a Brazilian. He
0013
Brazil was able to come up together with their scientist on how preserve coconut water for at least eight months.
seller because they found out that coconut water has a better mineral content and potassium than Gatorade, the favorite sports drink. So suddenly, coconut water, which provinces in this country are just in all coconut-producing have suddenly
thrown away,
acquired value.
And he told me, Mr. Chairman, that he negotiated a And I asked him, "With whom?" Candelaria ba sila? And with
Celebes Coconut Oil owned by a young entrepreneur, Rory Ong, who I happened to help, Mr. Chairman, when I was secretary of Agriculture. -I helped .him get a-license to operate an oil mill and a desiccated coconut. And now, he is so big in Mindanao. But anyway, I told him that, "Yes, h.as so many
uses now including the husk which again was just a farm waste@"
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ngayon?.../rlt
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Ilan ang demand for coconut husk ngayon? There are 15 billion
coconut taun-taon.
(off-mike)
Three
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MR. FORBES. Doon naman po sa coconut water@ SEN. ANGARA. Oo. MR. FORBES. I had a report where are@'yon pong ating ine-
export ang nare-retrieve (retrieve) lang po'y@usually po'y nari-retrieve lamang ng mga dessicators ay 'yon po ay 15 percent lang ng total coconut water na nai-produce mula doon sa ating mga niyog. 'Yon po
ang@so ang natatapon po na coco water natin ay nasa 85 percent pa. SEN. ANGARA. matured coconut o buko? MR. FORBES. Sa matured coconut po 'yan. SEN. ANGARA. Uh-huh. MR. FORBES. 'Yon po 'yung@kaya po natatapon 'yong marami 'di po ba pag 'yong nagsa@'yong sa lalo na kung malayo sa@ang niyogan 'di 'yong pagtabas ng niyog, tapon na po natin 'yan. Ang nari-retr eve lamang po natin 'yong namimili ng buko 'yong i mga dessicators@ SEN. ANGARA. Uh-huh. MR. FORBES. They don't@katulad po ng Franklin Baker at saka nung ano@ng@'yong nasa Candelaria, 'yon lang, sila lang po ang QV Ito ba 'yong@Chairman, ito ba'y tubig sa
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total na coco water na nai-produce ng Pilipinas. SEN. ANGARA. Teka muna. Anong estimated coconut trees we
SEN. ANGARA.
Per
coconut year? Forty-six nuts xdi ba, a year? MR. FORBES. "Yon po ang dapat na usual natin 46 to 60, pero
ang average na po natin ngayon nasa 33 nuts@ SEN. ANGARA. Bumagsak na? MR. FORBES. Opo, nasa 33 nuts per year na lang po per tree. SEN. ANGARA. Bakit ho? MR. FORBES. Ah 1y n9~maralT1i pong@ SEN. ANGARA. Matanda na? MR. FORBES. Medyo po matanda na at *yong iba po naman po ay hindi na po napi-fertilize. SEN. ANGARA. Okay. So mabalik nga ako, ganon kalaki
ngayon ang demand for coconut coir. Dahil sa amin, sa Aurora, laging(QV
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pumupunta ang mga agent ng mga mainland Chinese naghahanap ng coconut coir and there is not enough production on coconut coir. MR. FORBES. EhTyong@ SEN. ANGARA. So kung estimeytin (estimate) mo ang demand
for coconut coir@
MR. FORBES.
po pala sa@kaya po namamatay ang ating coir industry kasi po 'y n9 napuntang sa coconut farmer kakaunti po at ang nakikinabang lamang ng marami 'yon pong mga consolidators. Napakalaki po ng demand ng China at lalo po sa Europe. SEN. ANGARA. Sa'n nila ginagamit sa Europe? MR. FORBES.
kotse@
SEN. ANGARA. 'Yong mattress? Mattress? MR. FORBES. xYong mattresses po. Sa China naman po dahil po xyong mga disyerto'y pumapasok na sa city, ginagawa po@ ginagamit po nilang pang-arrest nung pagpasok ng disyerto. lalung-lalo na po lyong katulad po 'yong sa Aurora doon po naman... At
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SEN. ANGARA. So, kaya nga ang proposal under my bill, Mr. Chairman, together with the Senate President, is to utilize now that long@that long idle...
Senate President, would you like to have your opening statement? THE SENATE PRESIDENT. You know, I'm quite familiar with
this fund *no, how it started, how it was used, where it came from and what was the agreement in the beginning when it was initiated by the Marcos government. And my knowledge is based on the fact that I
was directed by then President Marcos initially to solve a problem that involved the coconut industry. And the problem was that, in 1973, the price of copra in the world market became inordinately very high and all copra production in the country including coconut oil milled by the
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milling plants@coconut milling plants at that time were all being expor ed to foreign users. And there came when the manufacturers of t coconut-based products in the country like soap, filled milk, cooking oil and others were shor or bereft of any supply to produce the products t that would be consumed in the local market. As a consequence, there was a big howl in the domestic market among our consumers and President Marcos got alarmed, so he planned to ban the exportation of copra including coconut fruit@coconut oil. Then we were under Mar ial t Law, President Marcos asked me to find a solution to the problem. So what I did was to convoke a meeting of all the par ies t involved in the Camelot Hotel in Quezon City. I was the one presiding. And in that meeting of course, the Secretary of Agriculture, Bong Tangco, was there with his Undersecretary Col. Joe Drilon; the members of the Coconut Federation headed by Caling Lobregat, Pepot Eleazar, Old Manimano(?), Mar inez, Miranda and so for h, and all of t t them. Then the users, the companies using coconut oil were there@ Herminigildo Zayco was there; the executive secretary was there; Troadio Quiazon, who was the Trade secretary, was there; General Ramos was there, he was the chief of Constabulary and the operating
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arm of the Martial Law Government to enforce orders, and many others. I think Ben Olivas was there. So we were@I explained to the participants of this conference the desire of President Marcos to find a solution. So the coconut
farmers represented by the COCOFED, Coconut Federation of the Philippines, proposed to put up a fund to subsidize the coconut-based consumer products in the country so that the farmers will not be deprived of their profits because of the high price in the world market. And the fund would come from a charge per 100 kilos of copra sold at farm gate@a certain percentage of the farm gate at that time. I
i Of
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very difficult for the local consumers and at the same time the coconut producers, copra producers and the oil millers could export their product. So it was actually Joe Drilon that provided this concept of subsidy and we have to recognize that. But the basic
understanding was that any amount left after the government spent the amount needed to subsidize the coconut-based
products for the benefit of the local consumers would remain the
called Coconut Investment Company Act. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). 6260.
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THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Ah, 6260. Yes. That's the@ The formula there was a certain amount per one hundredths@ what do you call that? Skate(?)@Hundred kilos of copra I think it's 50 or 55
centavos, I think at that time under the old law per kilo.
MR. ARRANZA. Fifty-five centavos.
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Ah, 55 centavos. But the collection was supposed to be up to a certain amount, 100 million 'no? Kaya there's a limit of the total collection. Once they have reached that limit to capitalize this coconut investment company,
the levy would stop. There was a sunset provision and this was
One hundred
represented by so-called coconut funds receipt. So we copied that formula and in the levy that was imposed in 1983, the same
procedure was used- that every contribution of the coconut
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farmers for producing copra would be represented by coco fund receipts so that that is their share par icipation in the residual t fund of the subsidy. Anyway, the total collection@There were several subsidies later on. The initial amount was increased, reduced, increased again. And then in addition to this original subsidy, there was another subsidy that was imposed particularly and specifically intended for the replanting program of the government which we also adopted in late 1974 when we put up the Bugsuk Seed Garden. But, again, the same concept was introduced in the bill that authorized it or the P.D. that authorized it that whatever residual value existed or remained after we have set up the Bugsuk seed garden would remain the money of the coconut
farmers.
for which these subsidies were set up for subsidization of consumer products and then later on including the export tax. There was an export tax also that was covered by this. Some
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monies were used to provide scholarship fund for the children of coconut farmers and then the amount spent for the Bugsuk Seed Garden. This amounted to about P7.1 billion. The remainder, P2.5 billion was actually transferred. The depository of this fund used to be the Philippine National Bank. And later on, it was
transferred to the United Coconut Planters Bank when we
organized it sometime in 1975, I think, when we organized the United Coconut Planters Bank as a credit institution for the coconut industry. So the capitalization, by the way, of the
United Coconut Planters Bank was taken from the share of the Philippine Coconut Authority out of the coconut levy because a portion of the coconut levy was given to the Philippine Coconut Authority for the uses of the coconut federation and for the modernization supposedly of the coconut industry by the Philippine Coconut Authority. I did not even know that there was such a money until later on when I was asked to do something about it. And I was not really involved in the coconut industry except my participation in setting up the subsidy in 1973 and supervising its application for the purposes for which it was
J32Q
)
intended. And later on, because I was asked by Danding to help him in setting up the coconut seed garden project of the government which was languishing for three years in the hands of the late Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor that I got involved in it directly and deeply. So late 1974, Danding Cojuangco went to my office in the Department of Defense and asked me for help. "Can you And he said,
because this is the desire of President Marcos." And I said, "For what is that? What is a coconut seed garden?" He said, "We have
to replant our aging coconut trees all over the country." "How
many millions of hectares are we going to replant?" He said, "About two million hectares and we have to replant all these aging trees in a cycle of 40 years." That was the understanding. Anyway, it's a lengthy discussion. So I told him, "You
bet er ask the permission of President Marcos for me to get t involved." Because I never volunteered to get involved in
anything in those days except to supervise the Department of Defense. So right then and there, he called President Marcos
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project, this time it was from 100 hectares it was expanded to 1,000 hectares. President Marcos asked me to act@to serve concurrently as Philippine Coconut Authority@direct chairman of the Philippine Coconut Authority. And it was here that@ the program for the coconut industry. The first thing that happened was, it was about a week after I was appointed, I was requested for a meeting by the Coconut Federation. I cannot forget this because I was having a fever and I was roused from bed because it was urgent. So I met the@for the first time@the leaders of the coconut industry at the mezzanine floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati, at--above the coffee shop, there is a mezzanine floor there. And in this meeting, the urgent problem presented to me by the coconut leaders was for the release of 90 million, P90 million for the importation of fertilizers and farm
implements/farm machineries. So I asked them, "What is this for? Where will we get the money?" And then they told me that the
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So they were asking me 60 million for the impor ation of fertilizers to t be distributed to the coconut farmers and then 30 million for the
importation of farm implements. So I asked them, "How can we be sure that all the coconut farmers will get their share of this fer ilizer t and how can I be sure if I release this money to you that all the
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meeting which he did; and when he arrived there, I told him, "Will you
kindly discuss a joint venture between the coconut farmers and you and we'll buy the First United Coconut Planters Bank. I will pay your option with 10 percent free shares of the resulting bank." And after the discussion, I assigned@I contacted Joe Concepcion of ACCRA, the law office of Ed Angara which we formed by the way in 1871. I was supposed to be in that law office together when I lost the election in 1971 but I left it to them when I got back to the government. So I
assigned this project to the ACCRA Law Office and they were the ones who formed the United Coconut Planters Bank with money that I provided, the 90 million plus more in order to comply with the 100
million capitalization for First United Coconut Planters Bank. That is the United Coconut Planters Bank. We organized it.
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Oil because at this point many of the coconut oil refining plants in the country were losing. There was fierce competition for copra and they were not making money except very few. So we finally decided to consolidate all of these coconut oil plants under the control of the coconut industry. And so we bought Legaspi Oil, the three mills@one in Davao, the one I think in Legaspi and in Jimenez. We bought Granex, Cagoil in Cagayan de Oro, Ilicoco in Iligan. Well, while Sindangan was bought by Danding directly and their Solcom so forth and so on. All told, we acquired all the.../jad
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oil mills including, the oil mill of Dimaporo (?) which was losing a lot of
money.
So we invested the monies through the@by using the coconut levy fund. The residue of the coconut levy fund. Then I think, in 1979, if I am not mistaken, Ramon Silay, who was a very good friend of mine and owner of Solid Mills, came to me one morning and told me about the desire of the Ayalas to sell their 20 percent share in San Miguel. point, there was some disagreement among the cousins, all who are cousins At this
Sor anos, i
Enriquito Zobel who was managing Ayala at that time wanted to get out
of San Miguel. So I got this information, and @ Ramon @ Silay asked me if I was my
interested.' I said, "I do not have that kind of money. So let me ask friends if they would want to try their luck on it."
through my mobile phone in my car and told him about this information that I got and I told him to get in touch with Enriquito Zobel. And
because of that Danding started negotiating .with Enriquito Zobel. And I saw Danding and Enriquito, Andres Soriano, Jr. also in Malacanang
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But anyway, I think/ about two weeks or three weeks past then I had a meeting in the United Coconut Planters Bank one evening. It was our normal monthly meeting . in the board of the bank, I was the
chairman of the bank at that time, and I asked Dandin "What happened
Ayalas?"
wanted too much for it. "How much," I said "P50 per share." market at that time, I think was about P20 or P22 per share.
So, I tol'd him, "Danding, if you can ask Enriquito to help you get enough@more shares and enough to control San Miguel and manage it, P50 is not a very expensive price for that share." And so, I think what
happened was Danding negotiated with Benny Toda, Rosemarie Toda, his wife, and the Ortols, the Recoletos, the Augustinians and. the Dominicans and the Franciscans because they were stockholders of the San Miguel and I was able to assemble additional 27 percent.
Ed, huh?
SEN. ANGARA. Fourteen. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Fourteen corporations to hold , the
0035
corporations are supposed to be owned by the coconut farmers because the funding came from the CIIF. In return for the acquisition of the, shares, San Miguel, if I
remember correctly, the transaction decided to make UCPB its depository bank, and invested P700,000 in different shares of the United Coconut Planters Bank. So there was a marrying between UCPB and San Miguel and
this was the relationship San Miguel prospered, UCPB prospered, became a very profitable bank until the Edsa Revolution happened.
So, at that point government came in because they thought -the bank was actually a crony bank, and then the problem started. This is the history of this thing. Now, today, the value of what was left of the 9.6 billion levy that was invested in the bank, insurance company, and all the oil mills and other allied business I think would amount to about hundred billion pesos, if my calculation is correct. So-, then the question now is how. to give this back to the coconut industry, to the coconut farmers? It is no longer possible to give it to There is no more than a
way because in the meantime there are so many people who now claim
0036
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE and FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-2 December 13, 2011 10:55 a.m. 4
to be
coconut farmers
was the Coconut Federation of the Philippines. Because by the law, under
this value? For as long as you allow this to hang on and stay in the
courts, the -funds will be dissipated. We have seen this. So much of the money of the coconut industry was lost because shenanigan people assigned to handle them. by the the
government will now make a decision. think of is Congress now to act without
And the only solution that can waiting for the courts to make a I am
decision because they are in a quandary how to handle this also. sure they do not .know who are the owners.
government as a. parens patrie must now make a decision through Congress to declare this fund@the values of the@coming from all of
these assets as a public fund but earmarked it for the coconut industry alone where'it came from.
0037
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RLTUMAMPOS 1-2 December 13, 2011 10:55 a.m. 5
Now--and my suggestion is this money must not be spent for the industry instead we liquidate the assets, create, liquefy it and reduce it into cash and let this cash be borrowed by the national government and use it for infrastructure development. Hard assets for the country and
pay market interest on it and that interest will be used to develop the coconut industry- @ That, in a nutshell, is the concept that I proposed which was
picked - up by
anniversary of the celebration of the nonratification of the military bases agreement and then they translate it into a bill which they, filed in the House and they asked me to file a counterpart bill here in the Senate.../rlt
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
CBGealan II-2 December 13, 2011 11:05 A.M. 1
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counterpart bill here in the Senate which is the subject matter of this discussion. I just want to give you this background so that we know what we are doing.
Senate President for the backgrounder, he is a walking history book, and the very interesting insights as well as firsthand account, I don't think we can ever get something like that.
That is another
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
CBGealan II-2 December 13, 2011 11:05 A.M. 2
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THE SENATE PRESIDENT. I want to put all of these on record because they think that we stole the money of the coconut farmers and in fact I still have a pending case, I guess@but I can sleep very well because I know that they have no case against me.
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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Senate President and yes, according to our records, the appraised value of all the coconut mills is about close to about 60 billion.
Oil mill
MR. KILAYKO. Yes, at least@about 120@Whether we can get the 60 billion in the fixed asset in the coconut mill, well that depends on the actual sale but we can say that it's about 120 billion in, well,QV
0041
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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what you called, maybe fund, 'no. So it's there, UCPB as administrator is looking out for this, xno and we are very supportive of whatever the good Senators would suggest on how to really deal with this fund once and for all because it's been affecting the bank also in the past . because of a lot of opinions being given. So if this is solved, UCPB
itself will also benefit from whatever solution that you will give. Thank you.
the foundation's position also before we go to the question and answers and of course the otherGo ahead, Mr. Amistad. MR. AMISTAD. Thank you, Your Honors. Since the foundation is under the bank, UCPB, we honor the position of the bank. The foundation is actually trying to help the
0042
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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MR. AMISTAD. Yeah. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. We were the one who set it up in the United Coconut Planters Bank. MR. AMISTAD. Yeah. It was@yes@ THE SENATE PRESIDENT. At that time it was just a trust fund in the bank. It was never a foundation. MR. AMISTAD. Your Honor, the foundation is a small
organization with a capitalization of@or an endowment fund of something like, at present, P50 million. It was organized by the bank to assist the coconut farms@the small coconut farmers so basically the programs are scholarship@
0043
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MR.
AMISTAD.
It's
the
social
corporate
responsibility
SEN. ANGARA.
kinreate (create) itong foundation na ito as an instrument to helping out the small farmers through@by discharging the@ THE SENATE PRESIDENT. How small is the small farmer? One hectare? Half a hectare? Ten hectares? Twenty hectares? MR. AMISTAD. Your Honor, we followed the definition of PCA. It should be not more than five hectares and there is a minimum limit of the number of trees@coconut trees planted, so on and so forth,
Your Honor.
Is there a PCA
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Is that by law or that was the@that was just done by the bank?
MR. AMISTAD. By the bank, Your Honor. Of
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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Ininkorporeyt (incorporate) na nila %y ng trust fund eh. This is just a vehicle to perform like charitable work. So hindi ho@ THE SENATE PRESIDENT. That's the bank, that's the function of the bank@ SEN. ANGARA. Yes, yes.
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. But the bank cannot use the trust
fund for that purpose. If it wants to put up a foundation then it uses its own profit. Selfless. SEN. ANGARA. Sa'n nanggaling@nadi-divert itong attention
natin eh@Sa'n nanggaling ang funding ng foundation, sa bangko? MR. AMISTAD. Nag-umpisa po sa mga officers ng UCPB... SEN. ANGARA. Bangko? Bangko? Kaya'nga. MR. AMISTAD. ...from their personal funds. SEN. ANGARA. So wala kayong pakialam sa management ng
CIIF?
MR. AMISTAD. Wala po. SEN. ANGARA. So I think that's what@nk
0045
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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word "CIIF Foundation" because that is the special name used to identify the trust fund in the bank, you know.
pangalan n'yan is CISF (Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund), xdi ba? MR. ARRANZA. CCSF.
Ah ito, CIDF. Of t
0046
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Industry Stabilization Fund when the subsidization was finished but then later on it was changed into Coconut Industry Investment Fund. SEN. ANGARA. Siguro, Mr. Chairman, para makuha natin ang substance at body nitong oil mills maybe Jess can explain to us the 60 billion worth of asset. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Please proceed. SEN. ANGARA. Jess. MR. ARRANZA. Yeah. Good Morning.
As suggested by
MR. ARRANZA. The Coconut Industry Investment Fund OMG@ palagi hong may kadugtong kami@Oil Mills Group@kaya CIIF para hindi maging@magkagulo, CIIF OMG@Oil Mills Group is composed of six ho ngayon. We have Legazpi Oil in Davao, Legaspi Oil in Arimbay, we have Iligan@Granex in Iligan, we have Cagayan de Oro Oil Mills, lahat ho ito may mga refinery at meron kami sa San Pablo and meron din sa Batangas. crude coconut@ SEN. ANGARA. Mr. Chairman@ O r Ito ho >ong mga kompanyang nag-e-export ng
0047
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10
MR. ARRANZA. Yes, po. SEN. ANGARA. Ilan ang operating mill ngayon? MR. ARRANZA. Ang operating mills po ay apat. SEN. ANGARA. Apat. MR. ARRANZA. Apat ho. SEN. ANGARA. Ilan ang turnover n'yo? Let's say last year, ilan ang gross revenue n'yo? MR. ARRANZA. Ang@nag-gross ho kami ng@nag-umpisa ho
ako 2OO9.../cbgf^J
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MR. ARRANZA. ... Nag-umpisa ho ako 2009. SEN. ANGARA. Hindi, last year na lang para ...
MR. ARRANZA. Hundred forty something po. SEN. ANGARA. Hundred forty million.
MR. ARRANZA. Yes.
72. Second year is about 172. And this year despite the shortage of copra ay tutubo tayo ng mga more than 200 million. SEN. ANGARA. Two hundred million,
0049
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MR. ARRANZA. Ang dividend ho noong mag-convert sa preferred shares because at that time pabagsak nang pabagsak iyong share, so noong kinonbert (convert) iyon, may
guaranteed buyback po na worth about 58 billion. Ang dibidendo na nakukuha natin is 1.1 billion per quarter, sa 8 percent ho iyan
at naka-deposito ho sa UCPB. Naka-escrow ho iyan. So walang
puwedeng gumalaw noong pera. SEN. ANGARA. To round it off, you get five billion a year. MR. ARRANZA. Four point four billion po. SEN. ANGARA. Four point four from the
investment. MR. ARRANZA. Yes, Your Honor.
San Miguel
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-2 December 13, 2011 11:15 A.M. 5
naiwan lang ho sa akin, senator, Legaspi Oil Davao at saka Legaspi Oil Arimbay sa Bicol.
Mayroon ho
din
tayong@Iyon
ang
pinakamalaki, iyong Iligan, as a single mill. At mayroon tayong Cagayan de Oro Oil Mills. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Iyong Granex is owned by an
American Group. SEN. ANGARA. Americans.
MR. ARRANZA. Sila John Baker noon. Tapos, mayroon ho tayong Solcom na hindi tumatakbo
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
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why I'm suggesting this, the impact of this if we do this is tremendous to the country. We can inject some activities in the
economy because we'll use this money to, of course, modernize
our infrastructures especially our road system and also we will put these operating units in the hands of really capable people. All of these companies were losing until Jess Arranza came because he understands the coconut industry. Probably he's one of the very few in this country who understand this industry. Now, then government will get out of business, hold this
money, borrow it, use it to revitalize the economy and then start
the modernization of the coconut industry again. SEN. ANGARA. Tama ho iyon. Ngayon, to me ang critical, Mr. Chairman, is mayroon tayong piano, program dahil kung hindi aba'y mag-away-away
tayong mga coconut farmers, na gusto kong na lang tayo. Kung hindi, di sayang naman. mag-divide-divide
So a key element to this proposal is a program, annual program where you put this money. Okay. It can be securitized
00.56
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-2 December 13, 2011 11:25 A.M. 1
SEN. ANGARA.
must already have an outline of the program. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. You know, I am sorry to dampen your enthusiasm. I don't think there is anyone here who understands the coconut industry. We better liquefy it first and then plan the usage of the money. Where are you going to use it? What kind of industr es? i The first is we have to replant our old trees. SEN. ANGARA. Fortunately, there is already seven billion in
this time. So the program can be immediately started starting with the
seven billion that is locked up. And then, you start winding down the hard asset and start selling although unloading 27 percent of San Miguel will probably dampen the price. So it has to be an orderly disposal of hard asset into soft asset. But what I am saying is we can immediately do this program because we have seven billion.
Napakaraming pera niyan eh. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). That's seven times of what the government is allocating for the industry.
MR.
0059
ON
AGRICULlUKt
aimu
ruuu
juiiil
kiui
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pong binibigay po ng Senado at ng Kongreso sa amin ngayon, iyon po ay na-program na namin ngayon. Iyon po ay aming i-programa
ay 13 million
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Mr. Administrator, sorry to tell you this. Once you use this money for fertilization, forget it. I don't want to be a party to it. This has to be used@ SEN. ANGARA. Hindi. Mga suggestion lang ito, Mr. President.
MR. FORBES. Oo. SEN. ANGARA. Mga suggestion pa lang tayo. MR. FORBES. Opo, sige po. SEN. ANGARA. Hindi naman tayo sumusulat ng@
MR. FORBES. Pero ganito po ang ano@ SEN. ANGARA. We entertain all ideas ngayon. MR. FORBES. Yun pong@may budget din po tayo sa
fertilization, iyon ay para sa 20 million coconut trees. At ang gamit po natin para mahirap ma-corrupt ay iyon lamang pong asin.
006
me
3
MR. FORBES. Iyon lamang pong asm ang Dinioin ncani ai iyun po ay pinapadaan po natin sa bidding at ang ginagawa ko po duon para makaabot yung mga ano@mabuhay yung ating salt industry ay regionalized bidding po. Duon po sa region, ibinababa po ng PCA ang pera sa region at sila po ang namimili ng asin. SEN. ANGARA. Pero, Administrator, tama si Senador eh. Kaya ang kailangang priority natin is replanting. MR. FORBES. Tama po. SEN. ANGARA. Ipe-fertilize mo iyan, mga ancient, antique potential increase iyan. Very few
provinces ang mga bata pa, between 10 to 25 years old. MR. FORBES. Tama po. SEN. ANGARA. Isa diyan yung@ MR, FORBES. Kaya nga po mas malaki ang ating budget sa@ Ito pong taong ito, ang atin pong budget sa replanting ay mahigit pong kalahating bilyon. Ang atin po naman budget sa ano@sa fertilization, sapagkat meron pa rin po naman po tayong natitirang konting trees katulad po sa Mindanao, mga 325 po to 350 million kaya po mas
i-nalaM ca rpnlanrina.
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-2 December 13, 2011 11:25 A.M. 5
diyes porsyento yon ng total population po ng ating coconuts. Iyon pong ating fertilization na iyon ay para lamang po na ma-encourage sila na dito pala sa mga murang fertilizer na ito na pwede naman po nilang gawin po sa kanilang bakuran sapagkat, kung malapit sila sa dagat, na pwede po silang mag-fertilize in their own way. Hindi po napakalaki iyon kung ikukumpara@ THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Kung gagawin mo iyan, sabi mo 10
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COMMITTEE ""-'-'@'"@@
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ano ang paggagamitan nito ay magKaKaguiu idyu. uilu iany =,u ut.,.y
issue on fertilization
siguro meron na tayong outline ng programa at kung@Para naman hindi nga pagtalunan ang general principle dahil kami naman ang talagang gumagawa ng general principle, ito ang outline ng mga
program.
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Better use it only for replanting. Yung operational expense in maintaining it, fertilizing it, and weeding it and bringing it to fruition, let it be a function of the coconut farmers. Eh di at least nakikita mo nandiyan, oh eh di ginamit. SEN. ANGARA. Isang perspective iyon. Kaya nga sinabi ko
MR. FORBES.
SEN. ANGARA.
006
COMMITTEE -. . r^i-,,-..,,,
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AGRICULTUKt
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SEN.
ANGARA.
Hindi.
Ang sinasaDi
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lyun dny
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kailangan ng mga coconut farmers. Don't shoot it down immediately. We are trying to throw up ideas that can go into that plan, into that program, hindi ba? Importante ang access. Tingnan mo, ang mahal na
0065
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
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more efficiently. Right now, per our assessment, there is a lot of infrastructure support that is fur her needed and we are still on the t process of catching up our investments as far as all the sectors is concerned. So our feelings is since there is still a big gap in terms of infrastructure and facility support for the industry, this might be a very good source as long as we agree and we raise the consensus to really invest in this particular aspect. Among the things that we have more or less, looked at is, of course, the replanting, the intercropping and value adding activities which should@especially near, very close to the production areas. And other assistance suppor to bring down costs in t terms of transpor , consolidation and distribution would be another t area which we see that the costs in the production can now be lowered and more of the incomes can now go into net profits for the producers.
SEN. ANGARA. Mr. Chairman...
So
far
ang
na-discuss
natin
importante
ang
replanting,
importante yung mga access road and other infrastructure, impor ante t yung mga processing and other post-harvest facilities. But to me,
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint witn CUMMll itts ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE.
Ri TUMAMPOS 1-3 December 13, 2011 11:35 a.m. 2
even beat us because nga we are sleeping on our very impuridiii. industry. @ '
supply because once you have the supply, industry will come in and use it. You will have people who will put up plants to produce sugar out of the coconut shell. Some people will put up a coir factory. Some
up the supply first,' who cares to go in the bundoks to put up a plant? And once a businessman goes there, if there is a supply of copra, then
he puts the infrastructure. I know this. I'm in coconut industry. I am a dessicator. My God! I'm telling you, I have been operating coconut plantations bigger than you can imagine in Mindanao but I sold it already. I gave it government. to the
THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). EarlierTHE SENATE PRESIDENT. You will not benefit the coconut
farmers, you will benefit the pockets of people who will raid it. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Could we hear from our
0069
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proposal na ito, itong mga minumungkahing batas? Sino po ba ang@nauna ho dito si Mr. Mora, tapos si Mr. Fabe, tapos si Mr. Arandela. Kung mayroon po kayong nais banggitin sino ho ang
gustong mag-volunteer muna? Sino ho ba? Oh, kayo na po? Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Mora. Tutal kayo po ang pinaka-subject matter nito dahil sa inyo po.galing yung pondong ito, sa hanay po ninyo. MR. MORA. .Una ho, talagang inagahan ko kanina kaya ako ang
pinakauna para yung usapin po kasi ng coco levy, yung dugtong bituka
namin ito eh, sa mga magsasaka sa niyugan. Yun pong proposed na batas ay ngayon ko lang nakita. pong binigay na history Pero yun
sa aking puso ngayon. Kasi yun pong@nung nawagan po nung panahon ni Marcos na paunlarin ang industriya ng niyog sa Pilipinas, kaya
mangongolekta ang coco levy sa mga magsasaka, ang paliwanag po sa amin ay-ito ay proyekto ng mga magsasaka 'at saka ng ating pamahalaan kaya mangongolekta ng coco levy para paunlarin ang coco industry sa Pilipinas.
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Yun po ay para sa amin. Yun po ang aming tinutungtungan mula doon sa@nung 1980's na yun hanggang sa kasalukuyan kayo po ang
hinahanap namin.' Pangalawa ho nito, yun pong usapin po ng coco levy, alam naman po nating lahat na mula ito sa mga magkokopras. Mula 55 percent
nga hanggang sa tumaas mahigit piso ng itigil ang pangulekta ng coco levy, nung panahong dekada otsenta na nung panahon na yah. Ngayon po, ang nakakalungkot po dito mahigit na pong dekada o tatlong dekada na kung hahanapin ay paunlarin yung kanayunan sa usapin hg punto na ito, ay katunayan po sa kasalukuyan ay ito na ang babanggitin namin. .Unang una po, yung sinasabing maliit na magsasaka, kami na nga po yun'. ' Ang pag-aari namin ay isang kalahating ektarya hanggang
isang ektarya hanggang ang pinakamalaki'tatlong ektarya. And ito po yung mga magsasaka na naghihirap doon sa mga lugar po ng taniman ng niyog sa kanayunan diyan sa Pilipinas.
Kaya ang totoo po nito, nung pumalo ang krisis, kaya kami naghahanap ng pondo na ito para paunlarin ang coconut industry, dito po nagkaroon -ng miserableng buhay kami sa kanayunan. Una, dahil bagsak ang presyo ng kopras.
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natin
Ngayon kung wala ng presyo ang kopras, marami po sa amin tatamarin mag-kopras. At sasapihin ko na po ang totoo. usapin kasi ng coco cut ing t Kung talagang
talagang
ito po yun ay nagagawa din mismo ng mga magsasaka: ang buhay ng magsasaka'ay walang kokoprasin, yun
pong coco cutting ay nangyayari ngayon sa Pilipinas, Southern Yan po ang isa din asa dahilan kung bakit humihina@
Tagalog.
Una, -pag wala pang presyo, talaga namang sabihin pa man natin ang katotohanan ay kami po ay umiiyak na kung ibubuhay sa arr ing pamilya. i Pangalawa ho dito, iybn pong Bondoc Peninsula, nagkaroon po ng kalsada diyan. Yun pong pagkakaroon ng kalsada, hindi namin paano kami kukuha ng
naramdaman. Ang nakikinabang lang po 'sa kalsada ay yung may mga sasakyan, mga negosyante sapagkat yun pong presyong mula sa aming kopras ay napakababa lalo, lalong nababarat. So ibig sabihin, hindi
nagkaroon@significant yung pag-unlad nung kalsada, nung infrastraktura sa aming lugar kasi ang presyo ng kopras ay lalong bumaba. So ang
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nilalaban yun pong usaping coco levy ay maibalik sa mga magniniyog o mga magkokopras sa niyog. niyog sa Pilipinas. @ Yun pong nagustuhan namin nung panahon na yun. nakakalungkot ngayon dito ay pag hinahanap po namin Ang Sana po ay paunlarin ang industriya ng
yun, pumunta
po kayo doon sa mga niyugan, makikita mo doon mga pinutol na niyog, mayroong mga niyog diyan na hindi maunlad. pagka Mayroong@talaga pong
industriya sa niyugan. Kaya po ang aming panawagan dito, hindi ko pa po nababasa yung batas na pino-propose po ninyo, mahal na mga senador. malamang ito mayroon naman aming sasaluduhan. talagang para sa Ito po kung-
naglikha nito ay @maibalik naman sa aming . mga magsasaka sa anyo ng pakinabang sa usapin ng agrikultura.
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-3 December 13, 2011 11:35 a.m. 7
Kaya nga po, ang panawagan namin po ng ano, ito po ay ipapakita ko na para@ang panawagan po namin mula doon sa Lucena ito ang panawagan namin: Coco levy fund ibalik sa mga magniniyog. Ito po yung panawagan- namin. Kaya kahit anong oras ay laging dala-dala ko at kinakabit ko dito sa dibdib na ito para lamang@iyon pong tatay ko kasi ay mahina na hanggang sa ngayon ay sana
mapakinabangan man lamang ng mga matatahdang nagtanim ng niyog. Yun po ang position namin. Kinakailangan ang totoong
pawis at dugo nila ang ginamit dito para- matipon ng ating gobyerno yung gaanong kalaking bilyong piso na kasalukuyang pinag-uusapan natin. Magandang umaga po. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Maraming salamat. Actually yun nga ang tinatalakay natin ngayon. usapin Halimbawa yung
magni.niyog dahil pagka nagkaroon ng replanting ay gaganda yung ani, hindi pp ba? Yung dami ng niyog na makukuha po natin. So yun yung mga tinatalakay po natin.. Kaya pagka'tapos po ngang mabasa p'o yung ating programa, yung mga batas, yung panukala, kung maaari lang po kung ano yung mga
0074
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-3 December 13, 2011 11:35 a.m. 8
pondong ito sa usapin po ng inyong pagsasaka bilang magniniyog. So, si Mr. Fabe po. MR. FABE. Maraming salamat po, Mr. Chair.
Sa bilang pakisama as a chairperson po kami ay sumusuporta dito sa propqsed^ bill po na ito, 2978, Senate Bill, Kasi, in fact, katapat ito ng bill sa House ni Congressman Erin Tanada at kami po ay nakunsulta ni Congressman Erin at kami ay sumusuporta ho.../rlt
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
CBGealan II-3 December 13, 2011 11:45 A.M. 1
with
MR. FABE. ...at kami po ay nakonsulta ni Congressman Erin at kami'y sumusuporta ho dito sa bill na ito. Although may konti sana
kaming dagdag kasi kung maaari pang dagdagan 'yung representation ng mga coconut farmers. Mas marami kasi dito ay representation ng hindi mga coconut farmers mas maganda kung@dahil ang pinaguusapan dito ay coconut industry development at pondo ito galing sa mga magsasaka, mas sana gusto namin ay mas marami sana >ung
coconut farmers@small farmers representation. "Yon po.
rice area po vy n- So nung uminit, patay agad ang industriya, biglang gumintas ang bunga ng niyog at maliliit@magkabunga man, maliliit po. Kaya 'yon isa din pong hinihiling namin na makasama 'yan sa programa ng industriya.Op
0076
Salamat po.
Ginoong Arandela,
kayo po. Magandang umaga po. MR. ARANDELA. Magandang umaga po sa lahat pong nandirito. Ako po si Ginoong Adelmar Arandela mula po sa Lopez, Quezon. Ako po ay second generation na; 'yung tatay ko po ay namatay na, nakakuha naman po ng insurance na halagang sampung libo pandagdag po doon sa kabaong. Kung makukuha 'yung insurance sa@ 'yon pong Coco Life Insurance, pag namatay na. So ito pong ating pinag-uusapan 'yon pong matulungan nga po 'yung mga magsasaka sa niyogan. At sana po ay hindi lang 'yung
niyog ang makita natin sapagkat sabi nga po ni Senator Enrile, 'yon pong niyog tumatanda po 'yan, 'yung lupa po hindi tumatanda. Ang ginagamit lamang po nating lupa sa tinataniman ng niyog 20 percent lamang po. Meron pa po tayong natitirang 80 percent kaya't
kinakailangan po natin maximum utilization of land. Isa po 'yan. So ito po 'yung ano natin at kinakailangan natin d'yan 'yung mga intercropping. At 'yon pong atin pong ano@'yon pong maximum
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
CBGealan II-3 December 13, 2011 11:45 A.M. 3
with
marami po sa amin sa Quezon 'yon pong bunot sinisilaban lang 'yan doon sa bundok samantalang 'yon pong niyog@'yung buo lang na niyog kung ito po 'yung mula sa bunot hanggang sa sabaw ay magiging pera, makakatulong po ito sa. mga magsasaka. At ako po'y nalulungkot sabi nga po natin 'yun pong ating coconut ay tree of life. Totoo po 'yon. Per saDi n9a P o ngayon, sabi po ni Senator Joker
Arroyo, tree of injustice na ito. At nakakalungkot po sa atin po@sa amin po sa bukid ang kilala lang pong@alam lang ibenta 'yon lamang pong kopra. Tapon po 'yung tubig, tapon po 'yung bunot. 'Yon naman pong bao, ito po'y ginagamit na lang panggatong doon. So ito po lahat ay sana maging pera. At ako po'y nalulungkot at medyo natutuwa rin sapagkat nung pumunta ang ating Pangulo sa Amerika 'yon palang coco juice pala ay meron dun. At ako po'y nalulungkot din sapagkat dito sa atin ilang
taon na dito may maliliit tayong mga factory na nag-e-export na ng buko juice sa ibang bansa po ilang taon na. Sana po ito sana ang mga
kababayan na may maliliit na factory, hindi po 'yung mga malalaking@ mga multinational na ang papapasukin natin dito at sila pa ang@sila po ang magde-develop no'n. Ano tayo, tauhan laang nila? Kung ito
0078
COMMITTEE
'"^"i"
ON
tt-t
AGRICULTURb
AND
i-u<jl>
juiiii
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wim
pong mga kababayan natin may maiinit na r ctory u yaw any auny e tutulungan, mapapaunlad pa po natin 'yung ating mga kababayan. Sana po ito'y makita. Hang taon na po tayong nag-e-export ng buko
juice, ngayon laang nakita ng iba. At'yon pong sinasabi livelihood po na technology marami po nito sa PCA naka-stock lamang doon pero hindi po nakakarating sa mga karamihan ng magsasaka. Tulad po na laang ng suka. Ano po nung una, hindi naman tayo nabili ng suka, hindi naman@ang gusto pa nga ngayon *yung sukang iloko. Kaya tayo po'y hindi nabili noon ng suka, ng sabon, sapagkat ito kayang gawin do'n. Kaya't ibalik po natin sana tayo@back to basic sana po tayo. Kaya't ito po ay ipaparating natin. At 'yon pong ating@'yon pong sinasabi kaninang asin, alam naman po natin nagkaroon po ng anomalya "yan noon pong nakaraang administrasyon na ang asin ay binili pa sa Australia. So ito po 'yung ating@maganda po 'yung P'ano ng PCA na dito na gumawa ng asin sapagkat ito'y kayang gawin dito. Kaya naman po ako'y nagtataka
hanggang ngayon yata, isang taon na, wala pang nagagawang maliliit
na asinan.
scholarship@nakatapos,
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
CBGealan II-3 December 13, 2011 11:45 A.M. 5
with
ngayon po alam po ninyo sa Quezon, apatnapung bayan ng Quezon, dadalawang eskuwelahan lamang d'yan ang accredited ng UCPB CIIF Foundation@scholarship foundation. At *y n po ay ang@nandun tig
kabilang dulo. At alam po ba ninyo ang kinukuha laang nila sa isang taon labindalawa lamang iskolar sa apatnapung bayan. So edukasyon po ay napakaimportante pero ah laking probinsya ng Quezon, apatnapung bayan, labindalawa lamang ang kinukuhang iskolar sa loob ng isang taon. At ang amin pong samahan, ito pong samahan namin noon po'y nakaraang administrasyon at hindi pa kay Mr. Arranza sumali po kami nakakuha po kami ng isang project 'yon po sa CFDP. Ito po 'yong
Coconut Farm Development Program at ito po'y pinondohan ng walong daang milyon. Ito po ay para magtayo ng 100 nurseries at ito po'y
may apat na component subalit ang naibigay lamang po nila ay %yon pong isang component, pagtatayo laang ng nursery at nagkawindangwindang na. ninyo. Ito po'y panahon ni Mr. Coronacio, 'yon pong pinalitan
pinaglaruan lamang at ako po'y humihingi na ito'y imbestigahan, itong proyektong ito sapagkat ito iisang component lamang po ang naibigay nila, hindi po namin nalaman kung 'yon pong ibang component nitc(
0080
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COMMITTEE
i-n^oaian
ON
TT-3
AGRICULTURE
AND
I-UUU
joint
7
wun
yuny@dL nu pu y
Kaya't sana po 'yung atin pong pinag-iisipan ngayon, ang perang Van na napakalaki ay mapunta na at mapakinabangan na po ng mga magsasaka sa niyogan. Dahil sa totoo lamang po 'y n pong sinasabi natin, maganda 'yon pong ating intercropping, ano po; at 'yon pong atin pong sinasabi na pagtatanim po ng niyog, maganda rin po 'yon para mapaganda ang biihay at dumami ang ani pero tandaan po natin sabi nga sa ingles 'yon pong law of supply and demand, "Pagdami ng produkto, pagbaba ng presyo." At noon po'y dumating sa amin 'yung presyo na 250 lamang po ang kilo doon po sa bundok. Papaano pa po namin maibebenta 'yon? Tayo po ay hawak ngayon ng mga
multinational na kumpanya, ang presyo po ng kopra ay hindi po hawak ng Pilipinas. Kaya't kung dumami po ang supply ng kopra@ng niyog, nangangamba po ako baka naman po 'yung ating presyo ay bababa sapagkat hanggang ngayon po ang ine-export laang natin na malaki, ito ponq crude coconut oil.../cbg Qp
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULIUKt /\
THE
COMMITTEES
ON
COMMERCEttt--5 k.-^:@@
iisipan ito, na produktong ito, na matagal na na hanggang ngayon ito lang po ang ating ine-expor , paglalaruan pa tayo ng t iba pang bansa. Mayroon pong mga produkto na mataas ang presyo, bakit hindi po ito pagtuunan? Nandiyan po ang ating malalaking oil mills para iyon po ang@Iyan po ay nakaka-produce na ngayon ng mga CNO. Subalit mayroon po tayo diyan na sino po ang nakikinabang noong mga produktong ito? Iyon pong mga multi-national, pagawaan ng shampoo, pagawaan ng pabango. So sana po ay pag-isipan naman noong ating mga magagaling na
nandiyan po sa gobyerno. Hindi po naman na natatapon lamang.
Tayo po'y natatali, eh. Pinagbibigyan natin multi-nationals. Saan napupunta po 'yung pera natin? Saan ang nakikinabang? Iyon
pong mga magsasaka, nananatiling magsasaka. Iyon na lamang
pong
magsasaka doon, magkano lang binibili ang isang buong niyog? Beinte singko sentimos. Kung ito po ay mailalabas natin doon,
...-,[@@<-, ^i^ nn ann kiln noon. Doon pa po. 0, ay hindi po ito
,0083
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 2
nangyayari samantalang mayroon naman pong nakakaisip sana. Kami naman pong mga magsasaka konsultahin. Hindi lang iyong mga technocrats na nakaupo lamang sa mga maialamig na
opisina.
SEN. ANGARA. Sino iyon? (Laughter) MR. ARANDELA. Iyon pong iba, sir. (Laughter) Sana po ay mapakinggan kami sapagkat kami po ang bumababa sa bundok. Nakikita namin ang sitwasyon. At iyon nga po, ito po sana ay magkatotoo na sapagkat iyon pong buko juice@Ako po ay galing sa Vietnam hanggang 26. Pinadala po ako ng noon pong November 20 UNFAO at doon ko po
nalaman na iyon palang produkto nila doon, talaga po sila ay nagmamadali na ng pagpaparami ng coconut. SEN. ANGARA. Tatalunin natin, ha? MR. ARANDELA. Opo. Iyon po nakinig ko kanina at ako
po doon ay kararating lang nitong November 26 at nalaman ko
_#84
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 3
Hindi
ipagmalaki iyong ating pong pag-e-export ng mga tao. Dapat sila po'y nandito at tumutulong sa atin pong sa ekonomiya hindi lang iyong kanilang kinikita doon. Ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa Senado sapagkat ngayon po sana magtulong-tulong tayo. Iyan pong batas na iyan, ito po ay sana maaprubahan. Kaya naman po may kahilingan po ako. Iyon pong COA huwag po natin kalilimutan. Lagi pong kasama iyan. Kung ang perang iyan ay rmailabas ng walang COA audit sa paggamit, nakakalungkot po baka po wala na namang
THE CHAIRMAN
salamat, Mr. Arandela.
(SEN. PANGILINAN).
Maraming
iyonq kanyanq stock certificate, piso lamang pala ang halaga. Ito
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 4
THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Okay. Sige po. Maraming salamat po.
Si Atty. Oca Santos po. Can we have your@from the
Coconut Industry Reform Movement. MR. SANTOS. Salamat po, Mr. Chairman. Salamat sa inyong lahat, Senate President at sa inyo po, Senator Angara, sapagkat pinagbigyan na n'yo ang pagkakataong maisawalat ang kaloobin ng mga magniniyog na katulad nitong nasa harap ko. Sila po ay naglakad pa magmula Lucena hanggang Korte
Suprema noong two weeks ago. Nagpilit po rin akong sumama
pero naha-high blood na ako. Hindi na maari, 82 na po, eh. Mabuti po si Senate President at a very ripe age@Sinasabi ko, Senate President, po na mabuti pa kayo at a very ripe age of 88,
eh napakatalas pa ng inyong memorya.
c^g?6
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 5
MR. SANTOS. Ay oo nga. Ako po'y assistant ninyo, eh. (Laughter) Pero kayo po ay mas@I am probably five, six years younger pero mas matalas pa kayo. Ako'y marami nang
nalilimutan.
Well, anyway, salamat po sa inyong lahat at kung anuman iyong mga nakalipas ay napakahalaga iyong mga sinabi nitong mga kinatawan ng mga magniniyog. Sila ang mga magniniyog na talagang@Palagay ko po ito ang biggest social injustice na nangyari sa bansa na ang layunin noon pong mga presidential decrees ay talaga namang pakinabangan noong mga
magniniyog.
iyong sinabi ninyo, Mr. Senate President, sapagkat karamihan nitong perang ito'y napunta sa bulsa ng mga shenanigans. Sana po ay huwag na huwag nang mangyari muli ito sapagkat hindi po maganda sa ating bansa at mamamayan.
kayo@
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Alam ko na ang sasabihin mo, eh. (Laughter) At saka matalino ito, eh. MR. SANTOS. Maganda po iyong nadidinig sana ninyo, eh.
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 6
Ako po ay nagagalak, Mr. Chairman, sapagkat sabi nga po e kung anuman iyong mga nakalipas na sinasabi nitong explanatory note ng Senate President na "The coco levy funds were invested supposedly on behalf of the coconut farmers but were allegedly redirected to investments that effectuated their
misuse." Iyon po 'yung sinasabi n'yang malaki dito'y napunta
sa bulsa ng mga shenanigans. Iwasan na po natin iyon sapagkat hindi makabubuti sa ating lahat. Salamat po at ako'y nabigyan ng kopya nito, natanggap ko two days ago. Binabasa ko and basically, talagang dapat po ito'y ipasa sapagkat napaka@Tingin ko'y social justice oriented itong panukalang batas na ito sapagkat palaging sinasabi dito na ito hong proposed trust fund ay talagang ang pakay ay for the ultimate benefit of the coconut farmers. Huwag po natin kalimutan iyon. Sana ay huwag laang sa papel kung hindi talaga maisabuhay sapagkat ang nakalipas na naging karanasan nitong mga magniniyog ay hindi mainam. Binasa ko po iyong declaration of policy at lalo na iyong purpose noong proposed trust fund na ulit-ulit na sinasabing for
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD JOINT WITH THE COMMITTEES ON FINANCE; AND TRADE AND
COMMERCE
NGDizon III-3 December 13, 2011 11:55 A.M. 7
the benefit of the small coconut farmers and farm workers. Its purpose shall include the various concerns na palaging sinasabing for the benefit of the coconut farmers. Noon pong mga nakalipas, Mr. Chairman, ay ganito kakapal iyong mga presidential decrees at iyan ay ulit-u lit ding
sinasabing for the benefit of the coconut farmers. Pero hindi po iyon ang nangyari kaya nga't napilitang maglakad itong mga magniniyog two weeks ago. At sana po kung ito'y papasa, itong mapupunta dito sa Trust Fund Committee, talaga naman ang puso ay sara para magniniyog. Hindi po iyong sinasabi ni Senate President na ang inintinde ay para mapunta sa bulsa nila, sinasabi n'yang mga shenanigans. Huwag na po iyong ganoon sapagkat dalang-dala na po ang ating mga kababayan, eh. At sana ito ay mangyari sapagkat talagang matagal nang inaasahan ito sapagkat@Mabuti po't bumalik kayo, Mr. Senate President,
sapagkat ang pinag-uusapan po dito ay kabuhayan .../ngdizon
<-n
89
me
1
MR.
SANTOS.
kabuhayan ng halos ika-apat na bahagi ng ating mga kababayan. Since sila po yung nagdarahop duon sa mga almost 21,000 coconut producing barangays na sinasabi ng PCA. Sila rin po yung sinasabi ng National Anti-Poverty Commission, isa po itong ahensya ng
pa'mahalaan na ang mandato kung maaari ay mapawi na ang kahirapan dito sa bansa. Kung hindi man mapawi ay mabawasan. Sila po yung nagsasabing yun daw pong mga coconut farmers ang the poorest of the poor, the most socially insecure sector of society. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Alam mo, Oscar, kung sinundan nila yung programa na itinayo namin nung panahon ni Presidente Marcos, hindi ganyan ngayon ang katayuan nila eh. Ang hirap eh kami gumawa kami ng programa, eh pinagbibintangan kami na nagnanakaw ng pera ng mga nagniniyog. Eh sinabi ko nga kung kami ay nagnakaw, ibigay ninyo sa akin yang mga assets na iyan at ako ay magpi-plead guilty.
MR. SANTOS. Kaya po, Mr. Senator@
1
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 2
MR. SANTOS. Kaya po ang mungkahi ko sa inyo, isulat nga ninyo sa libro yung inyong natatandaan pang pangyayaring ito sapagkat dapat na ituwid yung hindl@
(Laughter)
MR. SANTOS. Akala ko po ay nalimutan na ninyo iyon. Akala ko'y ako'y pagagalitan ninyo nung sinabi kong, "Huwag na huwag mo nanq kunin iyan at hindi mo naman kailangan."
009
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 3
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Kaya nga sinundan kita. Sayang nga eh. Kung hindi mo sinabi sa akin iyon, ginamit ko sa@binigay ko sa UP iyon. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Maraming salamat po. Perhaps we can have yung--the pr vatization officer from DOF, i Ms. Karen Singson, for your position on the proposals. MS. SINGSON. Good morning. You know, we are, at the DOF, very suppor ive of the measures t that you have introduced. Assuming and, you know, hoping that the legislation will be passed and all the legal issues are resolved, we are here to offer services to help with restructuring and preparing for the privatization especially of those that are liquid assets. For those that are liquid, obviously we would also provide assistance to the investment committee to understand what is the best, you know, allocation policy for the investment so that a target return rate would be achieved for the farmers to benefit from them later on. As of now, we don't have so much transparent documents on@because when we evaluated it, you know, we are really looking at it from the outside. We don't have the information obviously from UCPB because as
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 4
they need to protect as well. So from our evaluation pa lang we do come up with the similar number which is a hundred@you know, a
little bit above a hundred billion. I would say that one from the oil mills
because of some cross holdings from the SMC shares. Actually our valuation for the 14 oil mills is probably a little bit lower kasi the value is actually pretty low there. And we will continue to evaluate obviously UCPB, Cocolife and the other assets that are associated with coco levy funds. But we are supportive of the measures and we offer any help
well, you know, a briefer on what you have regarding the assets that are in question or the assets that are considered or being considered in the measures, we will appreciate it as we finalize the committee
report.
i 0093
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 5
THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). We will do that... MR. ARRANZA. Maraming salamat. THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). ...as soon as we are able to secure the position and the briefer. MS. SINGSON. assets ho from our side. THE
salamat.
CHAIRMAN
(SEN.
PANGILINAN).
Yes.
Maraming
Are there other inputs? MR. ARRANZA. Pwede ho bang ma@ THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. PANGILINAN). Yes, please. MR. ARRANZA. ..matugunan ko lang yung nabanggit. Sa ngayon ho, nung pumasok ho ako ay na-allocate ho iyon lahat. Ang problema ho duon, imbes na ang iba sa coconut@kooperatiba ng
0094
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 7
Malaysia ay sinisira yung habitat ng mga orangutan. So dahil duon, they would prefer an alternative to palm oil for their chocolate industry and they are looking at coconut oil, confectionary@ano ang tawag po duon@as a substitute to the palm oil. MR. ARRANZA. Mga cocoa butter substitute.
MR. ARRANZA. Bilang tulong naman namin sa farmers, sa coir ho halimbawa, si Joey Faustino, ina-allow ho namin ang farmers ngayon na magdala kayo ng copra sa ami, anumang oil mills. Iwanan
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Joint with the COMMITTEES ON FINANCE and TRADE AND COMMERCE
JADelaCruz IV-3 December 13, 2011 12:05 P.M. 8
ninyo ang copra para hindi tayo@para kayo ho ay maging kasabay rin sa pagbenta ng finished products, kinacrush namin iyon hanggang sa maibenta ng edible oil o kaya CNO. Kung hindi ho nyo alam ibenta, tinutulungan namin sa pagbenta. Tinuturuan din ho namin ang mga coconut farmers sapagkat naloloko lang ng mga buyers. Yung mga copra dealers ho iyon talaga ang kumikita. Pag nagbigay ho kayo ng copra, pasa ang gagawin. Pasa ho, eh maski hindi sabay sa sakada(?), pero dinadaya ho sa moisture. Kaya ho kung minsan kami ho sa oil mills, talagang laboratory ang nagte-test sa oil moisture. Gusto ko ho sanang makausap din ang mga farmers para maipaliwanag ko kung ano ang ginagawa ng CIIF oil mills para sa pagtulong sa mga farmers. THE SENATE PRESIDENT. Ito ang masasabi ko lang. Sinabi nila na mahirap ang buhay ng mga coconut farmers sapagkat ang kanilang produkto lang ay kopra. Pero hindi nila nalalaman na lahat ng@iyong niyog, napakaraming produkto na magagawa mo diyan eh. Ngayon lang meron kaming k'wan dito exhibit, tingnan ninyo. Mga kwan@Mga produkto na galing sa k'wan, yung front. Ano ba iyong k'wan, yung dahon ng niyog.../jad
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-4 December 13, 2011 12:15 p.m. 1
THE SENATE PRESIDENT. ...yung dahon ng niyog, yung palapa. Hindi yung dahon ha, yung kinakapitan nung dahon, nila ngayon na fiber at ginagawang muebles. yun ay ginagawa
magagamit ng mga coconut farmers na ipagbibili, may balor yan, lalaki ang income nila. Ngayon, yung sinasabi na pag nagtanim tayo ng maraming niyog, bababa ang presyo ng kopra, hindi. Tataas po sapagkat ngayon
mga vegetable
oil producers abroad, yung sunflower, yung soya bean oil at mga ibang oil producers na masama yung coconut oil. They found out that coconut oil is anti-cancer, anti-alzheimer. Gagamitin xyan ngayon sa
pharmaceutical product. Kaya we have to produce a big quantity of copra and coconut oil the country to participate in this emerging big demand. Kaya doon sa aking probinsya, sinabihan ko na sila: "Tanim kayo lahat ng niyog sa lahat ng inyong lupain." Ngayon, sinasabi ko lang sa inyo, Sa probinsya ng Cagayan. sa PCA pag-aralan ninyo ang Hindi pare-pareho in
climatic condition ng bawat lugar sa Pilipinas, huh? yung niyog na tutubo diyan at lalo na sa hangin. na
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-4 December 13, 2011 12:15 p.m. 2
Palawan and all those areas na walang bagyo. ay special variety na coconut.
Sa binabagyo, kailangan
Marami tayong magagandang variety dito eh. garden ang gobyerno sa Davao. They produce good sa San Ramon, mayroon sa Quezon.
natin na seedling, we will improve the quantity, the meat production of the coconut farmers and their income. Now, isa pa, ay kailangan talaga integrated ang ating program. We plant first the trees. Alam mo, matatanda na ang ating@karamihan
ng ating niyugan. Kailangan we have to replant and we'll have to find a variety that is suitable to our climate that can produce@that will start fruiting at less than the usual. years, eight years, huh? I think yung native natin ay mga seven But there are varieties now
Doon mag-star . t
that can start fruiting at five, hindi ba? At saka bigger quantity of seed
nuts.
At saka kailangan kung malaki ang volume sa isang probinsya, sigurado na madali ang gathering of the husked water and so forth and nuts, the shells, the
O, ngayon, tungkol sa asin naman, Mr. Administrator, hindi mo na kailangang bilhin yun eh. Turuan mo yung mga coconut farmers natin
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-4 December 13, 2011 12:15 p.m. 4
We officially place on record that a similar resolution, Senate Resolution 389, introduced by the Senate President, and referred to the Committee on Government Corporations, chaired by Senator Recto, heard this also heard@
well, Recto.
Proper Senate Committees to Conduct an Inquiry, in aid of Legislation, Into the Reported 1.5 Billion Net Operating @ Losses Incurred by the Coconut Industry Investment Fund, Oil Mills Group from 2005 to 2007," and so forth and so on. And we were informed, Mr. President, by Senator Recto that he has heard this measure, he has given his recommendations. They are now preparing the committee report. And since the subject matter is
intimately linked and related to the Senate bill that the Senate President
had filed and was referred to our committee, we will place on record that we will harmonize both committee reports and present it sa joint committee@joint report both the Committees on Agriculture and
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-4 December 13, 2011 12:15 p.m. 5
Having said that, and as an administrative matter, we will be ready to defend this measure, Mr. President,
January.
Yeah.
statement that yung sinasabi kanina na programa, kung mayroon tayong mga nyugan sa mga probinsya, well, the coconut farmers themselves can put up an oil mill to crush their oil so that they will maximize their income. Hindi na kailangan yung mga mutlinational. May iba dito na
You can do that and then gather the oil mill and sell it in bulk and
export it. Oh. It's just a question of program@imagination, but we
need the supply first before we can think of how to do the marketing.
producers, the farmers because the supply will@ultimately it begins from them. Sabi nga nila yung demand, hindi problema eh. And therefore the weakest link really is the producer and, therefore, the programs that we are to put in place must support the producer. Because in all other areas, Mr. President@in all other produce or commodities, it's always, they say "Hindi problema ang demand." Hindi nila makuha yung consistency of supply and'the quality of the pr duce o
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD joint with COMMITTEES ON TRADE AND COMMERCE AND FINANCE
RLTUMAMPOS 1-4 December 13, 2011 12:15 p.m. 6
measures so that we can consolidate them as we prepare for the defense of this measure. With this, we would like to thank our resource persons. This
:ommittee hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food is adjourned. Maraming salamat.
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