Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel Piñol. (PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY – Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has called for a debate and challenged all those who defend the policy which bans the export of mature coconuts.
In a statement Thursday, Piñol publicly challenged anybody who believes that the ban on the export of mature coconuts is beneficial to the coconut farmer and the industry as a whole.
“To make everything clear to the coconut farmers that we cannot help them now, let us stage a public debate,” he said.
Piñol earlier expressed reservations over the government's policy of not lifting the ban on the export of mature coconuts.
He said the coconut industry is in the doldrums because of very low prices of copra, the raw material used in producing cooking oil which is the main product from coconut.
“An outdated Marcos era policy, Executive Order (EO) 1016, series of 1985, mandated the creation of an Inter-Agency Committee that will annually update the list of prohibited products for export. For coconuts, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) board assumes this role,” he said.
However, Piñol clarified that the challenge is being issued not to shame those who supported the law but to show to the people that the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte believes in transparency.
He said the government is not infallible and it may commit the mistake of formulating well-intentioned but flawed policies which instead of promoting the welfare and well-being of the governed could cause hardships or injuries.
“Since you ignored the official recommendations even when I was still Agriculture Secretary and now as MinDA Chairman, this is the best opportunity for you to explain to our coconut farmers why you do not want to help them. Please set the time, date, and venue and I will be there,” he said.
In the case of the export of mature coconuts, however, Piñol said the PCA Governing Board had a change of heart when he resigned as Agriculture chief and transferred to MinDA.
The same board, he added, recalled the resolution "that they themselves sponsored in 2018."
Piñol said when he wrote about the said issue on his official Facebook Page a few months back, he received a letter from PCA administrator Benjamin Madrigal, explaining why the commission recalled the resolution endorsing the export of mature coconuts.
“He gave a litany of reasons which could be easily refuted but keeping this argument to ourselves will not help in our effort to enlighten the millions of coconut farmers why we could not allow them to export their mature coconuts,” the MinDA chief said. (PNA)
