Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Chairman Andres Bautista confirmed that UCPB and Cocolife had made a P15-billion “claim” on the SMC portfolio during last Friday’s dialogue with the coconut farmers, said Danilo Carranza, secretary general of Katarungan, a farmers’ federation.
Carranza wondered why UCPB and Cocolife wanted to dip into the block of shares when the court had already awarded this to the government for the benefit of the farmers.
“This will be a gross violation of the SC ruling,” he said in a briefing at a Quezon City restaurant. “The fund has not yet been returned, and yet somebody else is already claiming it.”
Quoting Bautista, the farmers said UCPB and Cocolife had manifested that P15 billion be deducted from the coconut levy fund and paid to them, as proceeds of their investments in the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF).
The farmers believed that UCPB and Cocolife had filed a formal manifestation to stake their claim on the fund, but had not seen this. They said the PCGG would issue a briefer on this after the Holy Week.
‘Manage expectations’
UCPB, Cocolife and the CIIF were set up with coco levy funds.
“Can they prove that they used the fund for the coconut farmers? If they used the fund for their own business, why make a claim on the coco levy fund?” Carranza said.
During Friday’s meeting, Bautista told the coconut farmers “to manage your expectations,” said lawyer Jaye dela Cruz, also of Katarungan.
“He said the money still has to be deducted because UCPB and Cocolife have to be paid. In short, they bought 11-percent shares in CIIF, and on the basis of that, they wanted to make a claim on the coco levy fund,” she said.
She pointed out that there were interlocking interests between the PCGG and UCPB, saying that the PCGG chair sits on the board of UCPB, while its commissioners sit on the board of the CIIF.
“I don’t know how this plays out,” she said.
Plea to President
Vic Fabe, chairman of the farmers’ federation Pakisama, said the claims by UCPB and Cocolife could open the floodgates for other claims on the fund. “In effect, they could be feeling the pulse of the farmers. If there’s no complaint from the farmers, they’ll go ahead with it.”
In a statement, Ed Mora, chair of Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, appealed to the PCGG to exercise “moral suasion” over UCPB, Cocolife and the CIIF.
“We also call upon President Noynoy Aquino himself, whose family fought with the Filipino people against the dictator and the original architect of the coco levy scam, to stand on the side of the coconut farmers and declare that the funds are to be used for their rightful and intended purpose,” he said.
The farmers wondered why Mr. Aquino had been silent on the matter.