THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has failed to pay Mindanao coconut farmers P24.25 million in total cash incentives due them for participating in government replanting and food security programs last year.
In the 2020 audit of the PCA, government auditors noted that the coco farmers have already delivered their end in participating in the Incentivized Coconut Planting and Replanting-Participatory Coconut Planting Project (ICPR) but were paid only the initial amount of P251,680 while the balance of P16.054 million remain unpaid as of yearend 2020.
According to the report, the unpaid farmer-participants were from Region 9 or Zamboanga Peninsula (P16.054 million), Misamis Occidental (P4.546 million), and Lanao del Norte (P3.646 million).
The PCA acknowledged the delay in the payment release and assured the Commission on Audit that it is facilitating the processing of documents so the farmers can collect their cash incentives.
It also instructed all PCA provincial offices to speed up submission of all required documents and reports to help expedite the release of sums due the coconut farmers.
Under the IPCR Phase 1, farmers were supposed to receive P40 for every coconut seedling produced and grown in a nursery as soon as these are one foot tall with fully developed leaves.
In phase 2, they are to receive P45 for each seedling planted and stabilized on the ground.
Auditors noted that delays were due to the late release of checks, deficiencies in documentation, and PCA’s implementation of a new database system called the Enhancing Coconut Farmers Survival and recovery thru Economic Support (ENSURES).
Because of the new database, the PCA failed to finish reviewing the submitted documents and reports that would have triggered the release of payments.
