LEGAZPI CITY -- The Albay provincial government and the League of the Municipal Mayors, Albay-chapter strongly condemned the Philippine Coconut Authority in the province due to its reported failure to take action over the unabated massive cutting of coconut trees.

        Board Member Ramon Alsua, chairman committee on agriculture had asked Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap and PCA administrator Oscar G. Garin to remove Edmundo R. Bailon, PCA-Albay officer-in-charge, from his post for failure to implement necessary action against the continuing cutting of trees across the province.

        “The present status of coconut industry in the country particularly in Albay is alarming and threatens to wipe out the cocnut industry due to rampant cutting of coconut trees after typhoon Reming battered Bicol,” the provincial board member said.

        He added that despite the alarming situation the PCA in Albay proved to be very lenient about these activities which prompted him to ask Secretary Yap and PCA administrator Garin to remove Bailon and replace him with a more competent PCA man.

        Alsua lamented that the rampant cutting of coconut trees were being perpetrated by outsiders as good substitute for highly priced lumber due to its lower price.

        He said that there’s a need to implement emergency measure to regulate the cutting of coconut and palm trees in Albay province lest it would seriously affect the economy of the region.

        “The fact that coconut is a major source of livelihood in 68 of the 79 provinces of the country and the Philippines is the top supplier of coconut products in the world market, we’re contributing an estimated $800 million net foreign earnings to sustain the economic lives of 3.5 million coconut farmers and their families nationwide,” Alsua said.

        As a concrete measure, Alsua passed an ordinance prohibiting coconut lumber and trunk to be shipped out outside the territorial boundary of Albay .

        Alsua also crafted an ordinance creating the Albay Task Force Coconut and Palm Trees Board to be headed by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, vice governor Brando Sael as vice chairman, and representatives from various government agencies including church, civic group and people’s organizations as members.

        The Task Force, with the assistance of PCA, will serve and formulate necessary rules and regulations for the immediate and effective enforcement of measures that will control and eradicate the Bronstispa and rampant cutting of coconut trees, including transportation of coconut lumber within or outside Albay province.

        For his part, Libon Mayor Agnes Dycoco, concurrent League of Municipal Mayors’ president also asked PCA officials to cancel permits issued to Libon coconut cutters and dealers from November 2007 for outside users.

        In her letter sent to Secretary Yap and Garin, Dycoco demanded the PCA officials to suspend the granting of permits for volume extraction of coconut trees.

        Dycoco was irked after her office found out during an ocular inspection last month in the barangays of San Jose, Harigue and Buga Libon town that the number of trees actually cut were above the number of trees specified in the cutting permit.

        “Restoring houses after the disastrous typhoons that hit Albay entailed the use of coco lumber in projects such as the DSWD’s core shelter program and Gawad Kalinga sites in Pantao and San Isidro” she said. “This means that in my town alone there is already a high demand for coco lumber,” the town mayor added.

        She said that even healthy coconut palms which recovered from typhoon Reming were not spared by coconut cutters.

        Copra is the second major source of income in Libon town next to palay.