About 3 million hectares of the Philippine archipelago is planted with coconut holding approximately 313 million nut bearing trees yielding 14 billion nuts a year.

In the Philippines, coconut has been dubbed the "Tree of Life" since most of its parts have uses.

Coconut is the traditional source of renewable industrial oil use in making soap and food products, such as chocolate coating.

With growing health concerns, the wet process of extracting coconut oil has been reintroduced purposely to harvest virgin coconut oil which is considered as miracle oil. Nutrients, which are lost using high heat process, is preserve through wet process; maintaining the healthy attributes of virgin coconut oil.

Another part of the tree with commercial use is the coconut husk where coco peat and coir are derived. Coco peat is a good plant medium but it should be exposed to rain for some time to wash and lower its cat-ion-exchange capacity, which when not corrected may deprive plants from water. It is a good substitute for peat moss since the latter’s continued extraction has been found to have negative effect on the environment. Coir, which is another by-product, is use as bed mattress and/or cushion for car seats. This can also be twined and waved into geotextile net which is a very good material for soil erosion control, because it can absorb huge quantity of water aside from being a biodegradable material.

A recent commercial development is the positioning of coconut water as athletic drinks because of its high potassium content. Known soda producing and distributing company PepsiCo is reported to have agreed to buy Brazil’s largest coconut water manufacturing company this year.

Coconut is also the source of potent liquor known in the Philippines as "lambanog." This product has now penetrated the US mainstream market and has been positioned as the tropical vodka; with an increasing following because of its smooth texture. Thanks to the painstaking and pioneering effort of Mr. Rich Cabael, a young Filipino-American entrepreneur and President/CEO of VuQu, saw the potential of the Philippine "lambanog" and pushed it into the mainstream market.

The same fresh coconut sap known as toddy which when distilled becomes the potent liquor "lambanog" is also the source of coconut sugar. According to experts, coconut sugar is good for type 1 and 2 diabetic people because its glycemic index is only 35. Compared to brown sugar and refined sugar cane, coconut sugar contains higher amount of zinc, iron, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium and sulfur. Experts say that coconut sugar can help manage weight and stabilize insulin in people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. Likewise, diabetic people can enjoy coconut sugar without the worries of hyperglycemia. Cecilia Concepcion, another Filipino-American entrepreneur and President/CEO of Abaka Holdings International, is instrumental in introducing this product into the US mainstream market.

It may be high time for Filipino-Americans to consider planting their vacant agricultural lands in the Philippines with coconut or investing in coconut plantation, because of the growing popularity of coconut products attributed to their healthy attributes. A five (5) hectare coconut plantation will be a good start especially for those who are still actively employed and are not contemplating of retiring soon. As the old people say, it’s nice to prepare and invest in the future; and, the time is now. I would then say invest in coconut which is turning to be the "Tree of the Century."