Cocolisap vs coconuts

It’s déjà vu: cocolisap threatening Philippine coconuts. This time, the infested areas are Basilan and Zamboanga, with reports coming in that Bicol and Southern Tagalog are also at risk.

The last Calabarzon cocolisap infestation destroyed over 3 million coconut trees from 2013 to 2015. Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol fears that 3 million coconuts may already be infected in Basilan and Zamboanga alone. So this infestation could be worse, almost nationwide.

In the 2015 infestation, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan (then President Aquino’s presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization) injected a banned chemical, neonicotinoid, into trunks of infected trees, killing not only coconut trees but also pollinators and other fruit trees like lanzones.

But it wasn’t the chemical injection that banished the pests; it was Typhoon “Glenda” that truly cleaned up the cocolisap infestation—but chemical importers and their “ninongs” also “cleaned up” hundreds of millions of taxpayer pesos as authorities had earlier rushed to import neonicotinoid.

At the least, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) should release reports on how neonicotinoid was applied and what results, if any, this effort brought. Trunk injection was resisted vehemently by many communities, forcing the PCA’s contractors not to pursue the injections. And the local opposition was strengthened when people saw honeybees dying, and the cocolisap transferring to lanzones and other fruit trees.

So, how much was really spent on neonicotinoid? Who benefited? Are rear guards of the past administrations mounting a cover-up on this? Will a Senate blue ribbon probe be needed to bring the truth out?

And given the experience that the Department of Agriculture, the PCA, and local communities have had from past infestations, what should be done now?

Our hope is that it won’t be more neonicotinoids, which may risk a loss of the international markets for Philippine coconut products.

JOSE Z. OSIAS, convenor, BalikProbinsiya, [email protected]