Coconut Levy Case against Danding Cojuangco, Enrile

[gareb]

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Farmers’ group presses case against Danding Cojuangco, Enrile

MANILA, Philippines—A farmers’ group asked the Office of the Ombudsman Friday to act on an eight-year-old plunder complaint that they had filed against businessman Danding Cojuangco, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and the late Clara Lobregat over the alleged misuse of coconut levy funds.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas filed an “extremely urgent motion” asking the Ombudsman to direct the respondents to file a counter-affidavit to the criminal complaint.

The KMP said the complaint has been pending for far too long, considering that they brought it to the Ombudsman in 2003.

“For almost eight years now, still no action has been taken. It is the height of injustice that the complainants, representing the small coconut farmers, were continuously being deprived of the fruits of their labor and rightful ownership of the multi-billion coconut levy funds,” the motion said said.

The coco levy was a tax collected from farmers during martial law when the country was ruled by Ferdinand Marcos.

The levy on the coconut industry actually consisted of two impositions: the first called the Coconut Investment Fund, or Cocofund, was imposed by Congress which enacted the Cocofund Law, or RA 6260, in 1971. The second was the Coconut Investment Stabilization Fund (CCSF) under Presidential Decree 276, imposing a P15 levy for every 100 kg of copra “for the benefit of coconut farmers

The funds from the levy, which was collected “on first sale,” was remitted to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), an agency created by presidential decree in 1973, which was tasked to develop the coconut industry.

The PCA governing board was chaired by Enrile, the defense minister then. Among the board members were Cojuangco and Lobregat, the president of Cocofed, an organization of coconut landowners and landlords which was then the only recognized farmers’ organization. Lobregat died in 2004.

In its 2003 complaint, the KMP alleged that the coco levy funds were illegally used to reimburse the funds used for the purchase of 72.2 percent of the authorized capital stock of the First United Bank, the precursor of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

It said 7.2 percent of the authorized capital stock went to Cojuangco. It said the 64.98 percent of the authorized capital stock that was placed in the PCA was distributed illegally to 1.4 million farmers who paid the Cocofund levy. But the money was supposed to be for the payors of the CCSF, who numbered 4.5 million, it said.

It alleged that the 1.4 million farmers, who were members of the Lobregat-led Cocofed, were not genuine coconut farmers and were just dummies and business associates of the respondents.

The KMP also alleged that the respondents caused the issuance of presidential decrees that declared the coco levy funds as special fiduciary and trust funds and not general funds of the government. Using these funds, they created and funded various corporations, it claimed.

“Respondents, as public officials and directors, dissipated, misused and/or misappropriated a substantial part of coconut levy funds and allotted to themselves excessive salaries, allowances, bonuses and other emoluments, for their own personal benefit,” it added.

KMP added that the respondents were still misusing the coco levy funds.

[AlbertCruz]

Matuwid na Daan!!!

[peewee_toot]

knowing the justice system here in our country...

all i can say is...

GOOD LUCK!

[gareb]

Aquino urged to pull out coco levy funds from SMC, Danding Cojuangco


ByDelfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon
1:36 am | Friday, March 16th, 2012

LUCENA CITY—Coconut farmer-leaders from across the country have called on President Benigno Aquino III to reclaim the multibillion-peso coconut levy funds invested in San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the food giant under the control of his uncle-tycoon, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.

“We demand (from) the Aquino administration to immediately pull out the coco levy funds from SMC. It is the only way to break Cojuangco’s control over the funds and pave the way for its immediate return to small coconut farmers,” Willy Marbella, the spokesperson of the newly formed Kaisahang Pambansa ng mga Magsasaka sa Koprahan (Koprahan), told reporters.

Marbella was among over 200 delegates from the coconut-producing regions of Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Northern and Southern Mindanao who gathered at the covered basketball court in Barangay (village) Ibabang Dupay for the two-day “National Small Coconut Farmers’ Summit” that started here on Wednesday.

Marbella, deputy secretary general of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), noted that most coconut farmers, who were still in their youth when the levy was imposed during the martial law regime in the 1970s, had died without seeing the benefits promised by the funds.

The funds, invested in SMC, are now estimated to be worth between P50 billion and P100 billion.

“Cojuangco has been controlling the funds for almost four decades now,” Marbella rued.

“Under the guise of developing the coconut industry, Cojuangco used the funds in private investments that enabled him to acquire and expand his business empire and interests which he turned into private domains of economic monopoly and dominance.”

Setback

Last week, the farmers suffered a setback in their fight for the return of the levy funds when the Office of the Ombudsman declined to pursue a plunder case filed by the KMP against Cojuangco.

The Ombudsman said the issues raised in the complaint had already been addressed by the Supreme Court, which declared that Cojuangco was the rightful owner of the 20-percent block of shares in SMC being claimed by the farmers as having been bought out of coco levy funds.

The 20-percent block of shares was part of a 47-percent block of SMC shares that the government sequestered after the Edsa “people power” revolution in 1986.

27% to gov’t

In January, the Supreme Court affirmed a 2004 ruling of the Sandiganbayan that awarded the 27-percent block of shares in SMC registered in the name of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) and its holding companies to the government, which has been holding it in trust for the country’s coconut farmers.

The 27-percent stake was, however, reduced to about 24 percent after it was diluted with the investment of Japanese brewer Kirin in SMC.

The summit participants also called for the enactment of House Bill No. 3443, or the proposed Coconut Levy Funds Administration and Management Act, filed by Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano that sought to set up the Coconut Farmers’ Fund for the rehabilitation and development of the coconut industry.