BIZ BUZZ: Hotline for illegal cutting of coco trees?

The government is looking to set up a dedicated hotline not for handling emergencies, but for cracking down on illegal coconut tree cutting nationwide.

According to the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, a resolution has been issued to beef up enforcement efforts against this illicit activity and safeguard the country’s coconut resources.

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) welcomed this proposal from the council but recommended creating regional hotlines instead of a centralized hotline to swiftly respond to unauthorized coconut tree cutting.

“I would like to suggest that this [hotline for reporting illegal coconut tree cutting] be done by region, not only a central one. We can provide that, not only a one-for-all hotline, it can be designated by region and down to provinces,” PCA Administrator Dexter Buted said in a meeting held by the council.

Aside from the hotline, the PCA reiterated its previous proposal to form a Bantay-Niyog group, fashioned after the Bantay Dagat program, to protect coconut trees from illegal logging.

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We currently have a law in place, the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, that penalizes individuals or entities for cutting down coconut trees without the necessary permit.

With the proposal to establish hotlines in every region or province, are these initiatives enough to preserve the country’s coconut resources and revive the local industry?