Pests destroy 76,000 coconut trees in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY: An invasive species of coconut-scale insect destroyed over 76,000 coconut trees in Basilan and the level of infestation there has reached an alarming stage, officials said on Monday.

The same infestation is also ravaging the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon—all in Luzon Island and officials were trying to determine how the insects (Aspidiotus Rigidus) managed to find its way to Basilan, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.