MANILA, Philippines—The government has lost another coconut levy case when the Sandiganbayan dismissed a complaint against businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his wife Imelda, and six other people involving the alleged diversion of some P840 million of coco levy funds from the development of Busuk island in Palawan.

In a resolution issued Nov. 14, the anti-graft court’s 1st Division ordered Civil Case No. 0033-C, or the Bugsuk island project, removed from its docket because of the failure of the Presidential Commission on Good Government to pursue the case.

There has not been a single hearing on the case since the original complaint was filed in July 1987.

But the justices left open the option for the government to re-file the complaint when it is ready to pursue it again.

“Considering that nothing had been done by the parties to pursue this case notwithstanding the lapse of more than eight years, the Court deems the parties to have abandoned this case and hereby dismisses this sub-divided complaint, without prejudice to the re-filing thereof,” they said.

The complaint alleged that Cojuangco, Marcos, Imelda and six other individuals conspired to divert some P840.79 million from the coconut levy funds—a forced tax imposed by Marcos on coconut farmers—drawn from the Coconut Industry Development Fund (CIDF) for their own gain.

The CIDF, created on Nov. 14, 1974 through Presidential Decree 582, was a permanent fund for the development of hybrid coconut seed nut farm to supply high-yielding hybrid seednuts to coconut farmers. For its funding, the CIDF was given P100 million from the coconut levy funds.

The CIDF was deposited with the Philippine National Bank and placed under the control of the National Investment and Development Corp. (NIDC).

The NIDC signed an agreement with Agricultural Investors Inc. (AII) to produce hybrid coconut seednuts on a parcel of land located in Bugsuk island, Palawan.

In June 1978, control over the CIDF money was transferred from the NIDC to the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

In its amended complaint, the PCGG noted that Cojuangco was both president and executive officer of UCPB at the same time that he and his associates controlled AII.

When Marcos ended the coconut levy in Aug. 27, 1982, UCPB terminated its agreement with AII which disputed the bank’s unilateral action. AII also sought arbitration.

On March 29, 1983, a three-man arbitration board awarded P532.39 million to AII as “liquidated damages” and forfeited the P426.26 million that had been advanced by the NIDC to AII for the Bugsuk project. It also charged UCPB P150,000 as arbitration fee.

In its complaint, the PCGG sought the recovery of the P840.79 million plus income and interest earned over the years. It also demanded moral damages in the amount of P12.5 billion and exemplary damages of P250 million on top of other damages that the court may determine.

In March 1995, the Sandiganbayan ordered the subdivision of the case into eight separate complaints.