CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: A lawmaker from this seaport capital of 800,000 people batted for scholarship of children of coconut farmers in the country.
In a statement furnished The Mindanao Daily News, Deputy House Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, said the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has a P 70 billion revenue out of the coco levy fund.
“Part of the P 70 billion coco levy fund could finance the scholarship program for children of cococut farmers, especially in Cagayan de Oro City,” Rodriguez said.
He said that he made the appeal during the hearing on Committee Mindanao Affairs with the PCA Administrator Benjamin Madrigal last week saying the coco levy trust fund now totaled P70 billion.
According to Rodriguez, the scholarship program is one of the benefits that the coco farmers could avail as mandated under RA No. 11524, the Coconut Levy Trust Fund Act, that President Duterte recently signed into law.
Rodriguez is the co-author of the coco levy trust fund.
The PCA Administrator assured that the coconut farmers in Cagayan de Oro City and their families could avail of the benefits of the P70B fund once the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA with the various government line agencies is signed, Rodriguez said.
Aside from the scholarship, the coco levy fund was intended for the training of farmers and their families on coconut production and processing, crop insurance; credit program, and infrastructure program, he said. -0-
