LET’S NOT GIVE UP ON THE GLOBAL BATTLE FOR OUR COCONUT OIL MARKET SHARE

LET’S NOT GIVE UP ON THE GLOBAL BATTLE FOR OUR COCONUT OIL MARKET SHARE

When I read a recent commentary of Dr. Fermin D. Adriano in The Manila Times titled “Philippine agriculture’s continuing demise”, I felt both concern and resolve. He warns that our agriculture is “at a critical crossroads,” and without reforms, we risk losing not just market share — but livelihoods.

Let’s take one specific pillar: our coconut industry, particularly coconut oil. The Philippines may lose part of the U.S. market to Malaysian palm oil, which now enjoys zero tariffs. But while we might lose a few percentage points, we must not lose everything. We can still fight back — and we must.

The stakes are high

According to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the country’s coconut-oil exports suffered a 39.5 percent drop in 2022. Globally, the coconut-oil market is projected to grow from USD 5.9 billion in 2022 to USD 7.4 billion by 2027 — but we will not automatically share in that growth.

Palm oil, produced cheaply and efficiently, yields roughly four times more oil per hectare than coconut. That’s a big cost advantage — but not an unbeatable one. As Dr. Adriano points out, agriculture must be anchored on “productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, and sound trade policies.”

How do we fight back?

1. Reframe coconut oil as the healthier choice.
Health-conscious consumers are turning toward plant-based, functional foods. The PCA reports strong growth for virgin coconut oil (VCO) and other coconut-based products. Coconut oil, rich in lauric acid, offers clear nutritional advantages over many generic vegetable oils. We should brand it as a premium health oil, not a mere commodity.

2. Move up the value chain.
Our dependence on exporting crude coconut oil exposes us to global price swings. Instead, we should focus on value-added products — VCO, coconut milk beverages, oleochemicals, and cosmetics. As Dr. Adriano emphasizes, sustainable growth lies in productivity and competitiveness, not in raw commodity exports.

3. Mobilize government and industry.
We need an aggressive marketing campaign led by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to promote Philippine coconut oil worldwide. At the same time, we must defend our farmers through a task force that protects them from dumping, subsidies, and unfair trade practices. “What is missing,” Dr. Adriano says, “are leaders who understand the dynamics of the agricultural economy, both domestic and international.”

4. Create a Coconut Industry War Room.
This is no ordinary trade dispute — it’s a full-scale global marketing war. We need a coordinated task force of the PCA, DTI, DA, cooperatives, and exporters to monitor market shifts, enforce standards, fight dumping, and promote branding. Weak institutions have long held back our agriculture; this is where reform must start.

Questions for policymakers

• Are we promoting coconut oil as a premium health product, not just a cooking oil?
  
  

• Why do we still rely on crude exports instead of high-margin finished goods?
  
  

• Do we have hard data on how zero tariffs for palm oil affect our farmers and exporters?
  
  

• Are we building enough local capacity to process, refine, and brand coconut products?
  
  

• What concrete steps are in place to shield 3 million Filipino coconut farmers from price swings?
  
  

The numbers speak

The Philippines exports about USD 2 billion in coconut products yearly, sustaining roughly 3 million farmers. Yet locally, coconut oil sells for around ₱140 per liter versus palm oil’s ₱99 — a gap that drives consumers toward palm. And while production may rise in 2025–26, exports are expected to remain flat due to higher domestic biodiesel demand and increased palm imports.

Globally, coconut oil accounts for only around 2 percent of total vegetable-oil supply. That makes us vulnerable — but also defines our opportunity. In a world flooded with cheap oil, quality can be our differentiator.

Yes, we might lose some market share, but we must not surrender the coconut-oil market — either globally or locally. We have something our competitors don’t: a long coconut heritage, diverse island production, and a health-conscious niche eager for natural oils.

As Dr. Adriano stresses, “the agriculture sector needs investments in productivity, efficiency, competitiveness.” That’s exactly the mindset our coconut industry needs. Let’s not be complacent. Let’s mobilize the DFA and DTI for global branding, empower farmers through a dedicated task force, and push for high-value coconut products like VCO.

Let’s position coconut oil as the healthier, higher-value alternative to palm oil — because it truly is. If we fight back smartly, we can reclaim and even expand our share of this vital market.

Let’s not give up. Not on our farmers. Not on our coconut heritage. And not on the global battle for our coconut-oil market share.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.comsenseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/06-07-2026

CAN FLOODS CONTAMINATE OUR TAP WATER?

  CAN FLOODS CONTAMINATE OUR TAP WATER?

I do not mean to be an alarmist, but I think that is a fair question to ask. Every time we see floodwaters rising — sometimes chest-deep in Metro Manila and other cities — I cannot help but wonder: if floods can damage roads, bridges, and power lines, could they not also damage our water systems?

We often see Meralco, Aboitiz, and the electric cooperatives rushing to restore electricity after a typhoon. But do we ever see Maynilad, Manila Water, or the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) doing the same for our water pipelines? Even if we don’t see them, can we at least hear assurances from them that our tap water is safe — or that they are actively testing it after floods?

The Department of Health (DOH) has always warned us about leptospirosis — a deadly bacterial infection that can strike even if we have no wounds while wading through floods. If floodwater can carry these bacteria, is it not possible that they could seep into our water supply systems, unnoticed and unreported?

I’m not saying that our water providers are neglecting their duties. But in a country like ours, where floods are almost seasonal, we should already have an institutionalized checklist of post-disaster actions — and checking the safety of our tap water should be right at the top of that list.

It’s already bad enough that many Filipinos still don’t have access to safe and clean water. What’s worse is if those who do have access end up drinking contaminated water without knowing it.

How Floods Contaminate Tap Water

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and local experts, floods can indeed contaminate tap water — especially when drainage and sanitation systems are poorly maintained.

Floodwater often mixes with sewage, septic tanks, and garbage dumps, allowing pathogens to enter underground water pipes through cracks or dislodged joints. When flood pressure reverses the normal flow of water, contaminants can be sucked into clean lines — a phenomenon called “backflow.”

Surface runoff from floods also carries animal waste, industrial chemicals, and decaying organic matter, which can infiltrate groundwater sources and wells.

Health Risks from Contaminated Water

The health implications are serious. Contaminated water can carry Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera; Salmonella typhi, which causes typhoid fever; and Leptospira bacteria, which cause leptospirosis.

Floods can also lead to outbreaks of acute diarrhea and gastroenteritis — especially among children and the elderly. WHO further warns that standing floodwater increases mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.

Workers handling flood response or corpses are also at risk of tuberculosis, tetanus, and blood-borne viruses if proper precautions are not taken.

What Can Be Done — and What We Should Demand

The WHO advises that the uninterrupted provision of safe drinking water is the most important preventive measure after flooding. That means water providers should not wait for complaints before testing or treating water lines.

In the household level, we can do our part:

• Boil water for at least 3 minutes before drinking or cooking.
  
  

• Use certified water filters or purification tablets.
  
  

• Store clean water in sealed containers, away from flooded areas.
  
  

• Report any changes in water color, smell, or taste to your local water district or barangay.
  
  

But more importantly, we should ask: who exactly checks if our tap water remains potable after a flood? The DOH? The LWUA? The Local Government Unit (LGU)? There seems to be a gap in communication. We need regular public advisories from both public agencies and private concessionaires — not just when there’s a crisis, but as part of their accountability to consumers.

⚙️ A System for Transparency and Trust

In an age when data can be tracked and shared instantly, why not use technology to reassure citizens? Imagine if water utilities published real-time water quality reports online or through an app — much like how power distributors now provide outage maps.

Even blockchain technology could have a role in maintaining transparent, tamper-proof records of water testing and treatment. Transparency builds trust — and trust, once lost due to contamination or neglect, is hard to regain.

Living With Floods, But Not With Fear

Flooding will continue to be a reality in the Philippines, made worse by climate change and urban congestion. But living with floods does not mean we have to live with contaminated water.

Our government and private water providers must treat this as a public health and disaster-preparedness issue, not just a maintenance concern. The cost of prevention — regular testing, better pipelines, and public communication — is far less than the cost of hospitalization, outbreaks, and public panic.

Clean water should never be taken for granted. After all, power lines can be fixed quickly after a storm, but contaminated water can quietly harm us long after the floods have gone.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.comsenseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/06-06-2026

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CLAIM TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR SMALL DONATIONS TO CHARITABLE PROJECTS?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CLAIM TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR SMALL DONATIONS TO CHARITABLE PROJECTS?

Many Filipinos are generous by nature. In times of calamity, we give what we can — food, clothing, or cash. Yet few of us ever ask: Can these donations be deducted from our taxes?

The short answer is yes — but the long answer is, it depends.

Under current Philippine law, donations can be tax-deductible, but only if they meet certain legal and institutional requirements. That means you can’t just hand money to anyone and expect the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to reduce your taxable income. It has to be a donation made to a BIR-accredited “Donee institution” — a recognized non-profit foundation, NGO, school, or religious organization authorized to issue official receipts for tax purposes.

The logic here is simple: the government must ensure that tax-deductible donations are used for legitimate public welfare, not for private gain.

But that brings us to an interesting question: How can we make this process so easy and accessible that any Filipino can donate — and still get a tax deduction — without going through a mountain of paperwork?

We already pay mandatory taxes, and we have no direct say in how those taxes are spent. But what if we had a system where we could voluntarily allocate part of our money to specific causes — say, education, health, climate resilience, or feeding programs — and still get a legal tax deduction for it? Wouldn’t that make giving not just an act of charity, but also an act of empowerment?

Let’s look at how it currently works:

Donations to Accredited Donee Institutions
These include NGOs, foundations, schools, and faith-based groups that have been officially recognized by the BIR. The donation must be used exclusively for charitable, educational, or cultural purposes. The donor must secure an official receipt and, in some cases, a Certificate of Donation.

Who Can Claim?
Both individuals (except those earning purely from compensation) and corporations can claim deductions. For private donations, there’s a cap — 10% of taxable income for individuals and 5% for corporations — unless the donation qualifies for full deductibility under a government-approved priority program.

Small Donations Still Qualify
Surprisingly, there’s no minimum amount for a deductible donation. Even ₱50 or ₱100 could technically qualify, as long as it’s properly documented and given to an accredited institution. The catch? The paperwork might not be worth it unless you aggregate your small donations and file them together during tax season.

Donations to Government and LGU Projects
Yes, donations to national or local government units can also be deductible, but only if they support projects listed under the National Priority Plan (NPP) — covering areas like education, health, and disaster resilience. These donations must also be voluntary, properly received with receipts, and accompanied by official certification.

That means if you donate to an LGU’s reforestation project or disaster relief effort, and it’s part of the NPP, your donation can be fully deducted from your taxable income — and it’s also exempt from donor’s tax.

Even donations to agencies like the PNP, BFP, or BJMP can qualify — as long as they are for public use (e.g., rescue equipment, safety programs, or humanitarian aid) and properly documented.

Now imagine this: what if we could automate all of this through a blockchain-based donation system?

This is where technology can make giving both easy and transparent. Imagine a digital platform — fully compliant with BIR rules — where every citizen can donate to accredited causes using their phone. Every peso would be traceable, every transaction verifiable, and every donor would receive a digital certificate of donation automatically linked to their taxpayer ID.

Blockchain could also ensure that no single peso is lost to corruption. Every donation could be tracked from sender to beneficiary, with real-time updates on how funds are spent. It could even monitor the performance and efficiency of recipient organizations — how much goes to programs versus administrative costs.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could see exactly where our money goes — and how many children are fed, homes are rebuilt, or trees are planted because of it?

This kind of system would democratize philanthropy. It would make charitable giving not just the domain of the wealthy but a shared civic act for everyone. A tricycle driver donating ₱100 to a school feeding program should have the same sense of ownership and recognition as a corporation donating ₱1 million to a hospital.

In fact, many countries are already moving in this direction. In Singapore, for example, donations made through the government’s Giving.sg platform automatically qualify for tax deductions. In the United States, the IRS allows digital documentation for online giving. There’s no reason the Philippines can’t modernize its own charitable giving framework — especially now that we have the digital tools to do it safely and transparently.

So yes — claiming tax deductions for small donations is already possible. But making it popular, simple, and corruption-free will require innovation.

My suggestion? Let’s bring together the BIR, DSWD, DICT, and private fintech players to pilot a “Tax-Deductible Donations Platform” powered by blockchain or secure cloud technology. Let every Filipino choose where their money can make a difference — and let every cent be traceable from start to finish.

After all, generosity should not be a bureaucratic burden. It should be celebrated, encouraged, and made part of our civic culture.

Because when we make giving transparent, accountable, and tax-efficient — everyone wins: the donor, the government, and most importantly, the people who need help the most.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.comsenseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/06-05-2026

ARE WATERWORKS INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF DPWH MANDATES?

ARE WATERWORKS INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF DPWH MANDATES?

Water, they say, is life — and yet, millions of Filipinos still live without access to clean, safe, and reliable water. This leads me to a simple but important question: Are waterworks included in the scope of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)?

The answer, fortunately, is yes. The mandate of DPWH is broad — it covers the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of public infrastructure across the country. That includes roads, bridges, flood control systems, water resources, and yes, waterworks.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news? While DPWH can build waterworks, it may not always have the budget for it. The funds often go to roads, bridges, and flood control — the more visible types of projects. But this doesn’t mean we should accept that situation as permanent. If Congress wants to make clean water a true national priority, then it can and should allocate more resources for DPWH to construct water systems, especially in underserved provinces and remote barangays.

Now, here’s why I ask: the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is clearly mandated to manage, finance, and regulate local water systems, particularly through Local Water Districts (LWDs). But the agency’s role focuses on the administration of water utilities — not necessarily the construction of the physical systems.

That construction role — digging the wells, building the reservoirs, laying down the pipelines — falls naturally within the scope of DPWH. So why not make it explicit? Why not let DPWH focus on building, while LWUA focuses on managing and operating? It’s a logical division of labor.

Let’s look at it from the perspective of DPWH’s full mandate:

Infrastructure Development: DPWH builds national roads, bridges, and flood control systems. Under the same mandate, it is also authorized to develop water resource projects — including irrigation dams, impounding systems, and water supply networks.

Public Buildings and Facilities: From schools to hospitals, DPWH already constructs essential public structures. It would not be a stretch to include community-level water facilities as part of its “public service infrastructure.”

Disaster and Climate Adaptation: DPWH also works on climate-resilient infrastructure — dikes, drainage, and flood protection. Waterworks fit perfectly into this framework because they support both disaster mitigation and public health resilience.

In fact, the department’s current priorities already include Water Supply and Sanitation Projects — which feature deep wells, reservoirs, pipelines, and even communal faucets. The Build Better More program of the Marcos administration explicitly supports water-related infrastructure as part of inclusive growth.

That’s why this is the perfect time to revisit DPWH’s waterworks function. With Secretary Vince Dizon now at the helm, the agency has reportedly started saving costs by eliminating redundant or “ghost” contractors — the kind that once drained billions in public funds. If those savings are real, could we not channel some of them into rural water projects?

Imagine a coordinated national effort where DPWH engineers design and build water systems powered by renewable energy — solar pumps, micro-hydropower, or rainwater harvesting facilities. LWUA and the Local Water Districts could then take over the operation, maintenance, and billing. This partnership would accelerate our progress toward universal access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030, a target under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6).

To put it in perspective, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Programme, only around 47% of Filipinos have access to safely managed drinking water as of 2022. That means more than half of the population still relies on shared taps, unprotected wells, or even unsafe water sources. This is unacceptable in a country with as many engineers, hydrologists, and infrastructure agencies as ours.

So here’s my proposal: Let’s formalize a DPWH–LWUA partnership model for water infrastructure. DPWH would handle the technical side — design, construction, and inspection. LWUA and the Local Water Districts would handle distribution, regulation, and financial sustainability. Congress, for its part, could legislate a “National Waterworks Construction Fund” to ensure that every province gets its share.

And since DPWH is already integrating green engineering into its flood control and drainage programs, we can go further — require that all future waterworks projects use renewable or low-carbon technologies. After all, sustainability should not be an afterthought; it should be part of the design itself.

Let’s face it — water infrastructure may not be as glamorous as expressways or bridges, but it is far more essential. Roads connect places; water sustains lives.

In the end, the real question is not whether DPWH can build waterworks — because it clearly can — but whether we, as a country, have the political will to make water access as urgent a priority as highways or airports.

If the Philippines can build thousands of kilometers of roads every year, surely we can build enough pipelines and reservoirs to ensure that no Filipino family has to fetch water from a muddy creek ever again.

Because development isn’t just about mobility — it’s about dignity. And dignity begins with a glass of clean water.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.comsenseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/06-04-2026