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Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Jay Velasco. Photo from the Cong Office. Velasco
MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has lobbied for the passage of the bill that seeks to establish the coconut tax fund, saying it will be a good Christmas present for coconut growers.
He said he has already spoken with the chairman of the House agriculture committee about the proposed measure.
“In fact, I spoke with the president of [committee on] agriculture and I said I wanted the coconut fundraising fund to end, and a nice Christmas present for our coconut growers, ”Velasco said during the Daily Tribune’s FB Live interview on Tuesday.
(I spoke to the chair of the agriculture panel and told him that I wanted the coconut tax fund to be terminated as it would make a nice Christmas present for coconut growers.)
At least 16 bills were presented in the House of Representatives in the current 18th Congress that called for the creation of a trust fund from the coconut tax.
Meanwhile, the Senate approved its own version of the proposed measure in the third and final reading earlier this month.
Under the proposed legislation, the trust fund will be administered by a board that will draw up plans on the use of the tax collected from coconut farmers, which was estimated at more than P100 billion.
The collection of taxes from coconut producers began in 1971 during the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. After the fall of the Marcos regime, several lawsuits were filed to relinquish control of the fund to coconut producers.
In 2012, the Supreme Court declared that the coconut tax funds are public funds.
During the 17th Congress, the president vetoed the coconut tax bill for its lack of “vital safeguards” that could “disproportionately benefit wealthy coconut farm owners” because the law did not have a limit on the land area covered for entitlement to benefits.
Velasco said he needs the help of all lower house legislators to fulfill President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda.
He said that he has suspended all hearings in the House for a whole week in order to review all the legislation that is pending deliberation.
“Kinausap ko if Majority Leader Romualdez and I told him that we have to focus first on the president’s legislative agenda for maipasa natin,” he said.
KGA
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