The tree of life just keeps on giving as the coconut tree can now be the source of ethyl alcohol for sanitizers and disinfectants.

This, after lawyer Anthony C. Manguiat, President of Philippine Craft Distillers, Inc. (PCDI), presented to Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Benjamin R. Madrigal, Jr. on June 26, the company’s newest product – the ALCOCO hand sanitizers.

ALCOCO is a 70% ethyl alcohol solution from distilled coconut nectar recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines.

This anti-bacterial gel sourced from local coconuts and has a 99.9% germ kill rate as certified by Intertek Testing Services Philippines, Inc., an international testing laboratory with locations in over 100 countries worldwide.

“Ethyl alcohol from coconuts is a welcome development in the industry especially now that we are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic,” Madrigal said. “This local source will make the Philippines less dependent on imported ethyl alcohol from other countries.”

He added that with more than 300 million coconut trees in the country, the PCA is now coming up with programs to make ethyl alcohol from coconuts as an additional source of livelihood for the 3.5 million farmers dependent on the coconut industry.

ALCOCO hand sanitizer is sourced from the liquid that is extracted from the inflorescence of coconut trees.

“We harvest coconut nectar with farmers from the CALABARZON region. We then distill and compound it in FDA-approved facilities,” Manguiat said.

He added that he was able to develop his coco-based business out of his 10-hectare farm planted with high yielding dwarf varieties (Tacunan) provided by the PCA.

He expressed his gratitude to PCA for its assistance to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). (PNA)