Senatorial candidate Imee Marcos expressed concern that coconut farmers might sink deeper into poverty because copra prices had rendered their main source of livelihood more untenable.
鈥淥ur farmers cannot live decent lives anymore,鈥� Marcos, also Ilocos Norte governor, said in a statement.
She urged the government to release the P180-billion coco levy fund to rescue farmers.
鈥淔armers have been waiting for so long,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hey should not be made to wait any further,鈥� said Marcos, whose father initiated the collection of levy from coconut farmers and producers.
President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed a measure passed by Congress to strengthen the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) because it does not put into full use coco levy funds for poor farmers.
Marcos said the measure 鈥渟hould have provided for the payment of loans.鈥�
PCA data showed that farm gate price of copra had decreased by almost 60 percent from P38.70 per kilogram in 2017 to P15.52 per kg last year.
In Quezon province, peasant group Kilusan Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan likened Mr. Duterte鈥檚 veto of the coco levy fund measure to a 鈥渢okhang鈥� operation in the government鈥檚 bloody war on drugs. 鈥�REPORTS FROM MARLON RAMOS AND DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.