People's Recovery, Empowerment and
Development Assistance Foundation, Inc.

Preda is supporting the rights of the small farmers to resist efforts by big business in conspiracy with corrupt government officials to use the coconut tax fund on project that will only benefit their selves. No small farmer will benefit from a huge so-called coconut-replanting project in Agusan del Sur, Philippines. The Multi-billion-peso fund was set up under the corrupt Marcos regime to benefit himself and his business cronies. Marcos ordered a tax to be taken on every kilo of copra extracted from the coconuts of small farmers. This crippled them and drove many to poverty. The fund grew over the years and the farmers demand that it is their money and ought to be used for their needs. But big business is using it with government officials for their own pet project that will enrich them and the small farmers.

Preda and all NGOs helping farmers fight for justice opposes this project. One good government official is also opposing the project. Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Valbuena supports the small farmers and opposes the Php 8.4 billion Coconut Project in Agusan del Sur.

The recent pressure from the office of the president to force PCA Administrator Evangeline Valbuena out of office indicates the political heights to which the project goes. The replanting project will be on land logged out by the rich logging families with strong political ties. The destroyed rain forest land is not the best for this kind of replanting as there is strong soil erosion and the rain forest land is not high in nutrients.

The project is called the Reserve Area Development Project. The estimated cost of the project is Php 8.4 billion, which is allegedly tainted with corruption because it is all to be spent to replant only 110,000 hectares of undeveloped logged over lands. The money is sufficient to plant almost twice that area. Where will the surplus go? Why is the project overpriced? The PCA, CIIF Oil Mills and UCPB Finance and Development Corporation are the groups behind the project and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed last 06 October 2004 when PCA was still headed by Mr. Danilo Coronacion.

They all strongly deny there is any anomaly and that everything is above board and approved at the highest levels of government.

The project ought to directly befit small farmers but it seems that the massive amount of money will befit only the wealthy corporations and will do nothing to relieve poverty. [End]