Quezon officials urged to unite vs ‘cocolisap’

MANILA, Philippines - The provincial and local governments of Quezon should unite in the fight against the coconut scale insect or “cocolisap,” which have infested and destroyed coconut trees in the areas, an officials said recently.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said it requires a collective effort of the local chief executives and their constituents in the barangay level and other stakeholders to fight the “cocolisap.”

Roxas has asked Gov. David Suarez and the 21 town and city mayors of the province to unite in order to avoid the problem from getting worse.

“We should all heed the advice of all concerned agencies in eliminating the “cocolisap.” We need to face the problem together and play our part,” he said.

The DILG chief said a lack of unity in the campaign against “cocolisap” would mean economic problems for the people whose livelihood depends on coconut industry.

“This (problem) is an economic threat that may result in further problems such as loss of jobs and income, rise in criminality, among others, if not prevented,” he said.

Roxas and former senator Francis Pangilinan, who was recently designated as Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, met with local officials and regional executives of the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Philippine National Police, among other agencies, to discuss the cocolisap problem and other local concerns.

Roxas and Pangilinan spoke during the “Konsultasyon Kontra Cocolisap” where they assured the people of Quezon and other affected areas in Southern Tagalog of the government support on the problem  of “cocolisap.”

The coconut scale insect (aspidiotus rigidus) has a life cycle of around 28-32 days. The infestation was first discovered in March 2010 in two villages of Tanauan in Batangas.

Aside from Quezon and Batangas, other areas affected by “cocolisap” were Cavite and Laguna.

Although it prefers coconuts, the pest has recently been monitored in fruit trees such as avocado, breadfruit, mango, guava, and papaya as well as cocoa, cassava, cotton, oil palm, rubber, sugarcane, mangosteen and tea.