Two bills were filed at the House of Representatives to establish new state-run coconut oil milling and refinery plants in Eastern Samar.

House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan filed House Bill (HB) 10834 to set up the Eastern Samar Coconut Oil Milling and Refinery Plant in Sulat town, while HB 10849 seeks to establish the South Eastern Samar Coconut Oil Milling and Refinery Plant in Quinapondan.

Libanan said the facilities would enhance the value-added processing of coconut products, create employment, stimulate the local economy and help alleviate poverty in Eastern Samar and nearby provinces.

The plants would process raw coconuts into refined oil and other high-value coconut-based products for both domestic and foreign markets, boosting the country’s export of refined coconut oil.

Coconut oil is one of the Philippines’ top commodity exports, with crude and refined coconut oil exports contributing $1.115 billion from January to July 2024.

Libanan proposed that the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) oversee the establishment, operation and management of the new mills and refineries. Funding for the projects would be allocated from the current appropriations of the Department of Agriculture and the PCA.

The bills also propose granting the two plants a five-year income tax holiday and exempting them from customs duties and national taxes on their importation of capital equipment, raw materials and other operating inputs.

Coconut oil is widely used in various industries, including baking, processed foods, infant formula, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It is produced by crushing copra, the dried coconut kernel.