MANILA, Philippines - The government yesterday approved the release of an initial amount of P400 million to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for it to be able to contain the widespread infestation of coconut trees in Southern Tagalog.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the funding would support PCA’s Scale Insect Emergency Action Program, which aims to eradicate coconut scale insects or “cocolisap.â€
President Aquino has signed Executive Order 169 declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon) and the island of Basilan, where millions of coconut trees are in danger of dying due to infestation.
Abad said the P400-million funding, which was reallocated and sourced from PCA’s existing budget for other programs and projects, would support the first phase of the emergency program.
The program includes the continuous monitoring of affected areas and implementation of strict quarantine measures and preventive interventions to contain the spread of infestation.
“We want to reassure the public that we have enough funds to protect our booming coconut industry. The focus is really to assist our coconut farmers whose livelihoods are greatly affected by this development, as well as to safeguard the country’s coconut-growing areas,†Abad said.
Emergency program launched in Quezon
Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II launched yesterday the Scale Insect Emergency Action Program in Quezon province.
In a consultative meeting in Bulwagang Kalilayan in Lucena, Pangilinan discussed with the mayors of Quezon the plans and programs outlined for six months. These include pruning and burning of dried fronds, spraying of pesticides, releasing of biocontrol agents, rearing and trunk injections.
PCA deputy administrator Roel Rosales said 6,000 coconut trees would be treated each day for six months.
The provincial agriculture office has also put up a biocontrol laboratory in its compound in Barangay Talipan in Pagbilao to culture the coccinelid beetle, a biocontrol agent against the coconut scale insect.
According to the PCA, crop loss in Calabarzon has reached P179.6 million. In Quezon alone, 335,091 coconut trees are infected and 1,826 farmers are affected.
Coconut production plays an important role in the national economy. Local coconut industry contributes about $2 billion in foreign exchange earnings and provides livelihood to 3.5 million farmers in 68 provinces.
With the big economic value of coconuts, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) yesterday dared Pangilinan to ensure that the money allocated to fight cocolisap infestation would all be spent for this purpose. – With Michelle Zoleta, Ding Cervantes