Sandigan junks 2 more Marcos, crony wealth cases

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MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has junked two of the eight ill-gotten wealth cases against the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., his wife Imelda, and the late tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., over the alleged anomalous purchase of a controlling stake in United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) as well as the acquisition of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) shares using the controversial coconut levy funds.

In dismissing the civil cases, the antigraft court’s Second Division cited in its Dec. 6 resolution the motion of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), to waive its claim for civil damages that it earlier sought.

The court referred to the government’s manifestation and motion as well as a PCGG resolution dated July 15, 2024, which states that “the commission will no longer pursue its claim for the actual, moral, temperate, nominal and exemplary damages… as the subject of the said cases, and to initiate legal proceedings to facilitate the transfer of UCPB shares in Cocolife to the Republic of the Philippines.”

The PCGG is the agency created in 1986 under the Cory Aquino administration, following the downfall of the Marcos regime, to go after the ill-gotten assets of the late dictator, his immediate family, relatives, and cronies.

Coco levy misuse

The two junked cases were among the legal remedies it sought for the recovery of Marcos’ assets, coming to a close after almost three decades and with Ferdinand Sr.’s son and namesake as the country’s President.

Civil Case No. 0033-A, filed by the OSG in March 1995 in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase and use of the First United Bank (FUB), the predecessor of UCPB, and Civil Case No. 0033-F, filed in May 1995 over the “unlawful use” of coco levy funds to buy SMC shares.

Cojuangco was alleged to have “coveted the coconut levy funds as a cheap, lucrative, and risk-free source of funds with which to exercise his private option to buy controlling interest in the FUB” at 72.2 percent of the outstanding capital stock.

He also supposedly bought a block of 33,133,266 shares of SMC stock through a group of 14 holding companies owned by six oil mills.

Cojuangco served as the president and CEO of UCPB and was named the administrator of the coco levy fund. UCPB, on the other hand, was also tasked with handling the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF), which covers 14 holding firms under six oil mills.

Then President Marcos imposed a levy from coconut farmers from 1972 to 1982 supposedly to improve the state of the country’s coconut industry, and he also greenlighted in 1975 the use of coco levy funds to buy FUB purportedly “for the benefit of farmers.”

Motion to withdraw

In its 33-page resolution, the Sandiganbayan said that the government’s motion and manifestation must be granted as it “has the effect and import of a motion to withdraw under Sec. 2, Rule 17 of the Rules of the Court.”

The PCGG pointed to the earlier Supreme Court rulings in Cocofed, et al. v. Republic; and Cojuangco v. Republic; which both resolved with finality the cases and affirmed the Sandiganbayan’s partial summary judgments declaring the SMC shares under the CIIF block and UCPB shares covered by the cases as being rightfully owned by the government. These shares were then ordered reconveyed to the government “to be used only for the benefit of all coconut farmers.”

The court added: “Furthermore, the PCGG itself intimated its belief that [the] civil cases… have both been disposed of with finality by the Supreme Court, and the only matter that remains for resolution is the complaint-in-intervention filed by Subic International Air in Civil Case No. 0033-A.”

Remaining claimant

The representatives of the defendants, namely the Marcos couple and Cojuangco, did not object to the government’s motion to revoke the pursuit of the damages in the civil cases.

Due to the pending motion for intervention by Subic Air, the antigraft court ruled that the civil case in connection with the purchase of UCPB will “remain active” as a compromise deal between the government and the aviation firm is still ongoing. The PCGG also asked for more time to reach a settlement.

In its motion filed in 2004, Subic Air alleged that one of its aircraft, a Gates Learjet Model 35-A, was “erroneously sequestered” in the case as the company had a “mechanic’s lien” on it.

“An intervenor has the right to claim the benefit of the original suit and to prosecute it to judgment. The right cannot be defeated by the dismissal of the suit by the plaintiff,” the court said. “In the interest of substantial justice, the court shall allow the parties the opportunity to amicably settle Subic Air’s intervention.”

Moot and academic

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan rendered moot and academic the motion to dismiss filed by Juan Ponce Enrile, who was also a respondent in six ill-gotten wealth cases, citing the earlier dismissal of the cases.

Enrile, who is most known for his role as defense minister during the administration of the elder Marcos, now serves as a legal counsel for Marcos’ namesake and son.

The high tribunal had also earlier granted Cojuangco’s petition for prohibition, effectively throwing out the six other civil cases pertaining to the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and their supposed cronies due to violation of their right to a speedy disposition of cases.

The 2021 ruling was handed down nearly a year after the death of Cojuangco in June 2020.

The other six subdivided cases docketed in the Sandiganbayan were Civil Case No. 0033-B, or the alleged creation of companies out of coco levy funds; Civil Case 0033-C, or the alleged creation and operation of the Bugsuk project and award of P998 million in damages to agricultural investors; Civil Case 0033-E, or the alleged unlawful disbursement and dissipation of coco levy funds; Civil Case 0033-G, or the acquisition of Pepsi-Cola; and Civil Case 0033-H, or the alleged behest loans and contracts.