LGUs asked: Help coco farmers recover stolen levy

LUCENA CITY—Former Quezon lawmaker Oscar Santos on Monday urged local officials in coconut-producing areas to help in the campaign of their farming constituents to recover the multibillion-peso coconut levy.

“The local officials have the moral obligation to their constituents to support the struggle,” said Santos, 82, a tireless campaigner for the return of the coconut levy to farmers.

“It is imperative for them to also embrace the cause because the future of their people is at stake,” he said.

“What is at stake here is not only the return of the money to poor and aging coconut farmers,” he said. “This is also a battle for social justice.”

Santos led a delegation of coconut farmers in Quezon who went to the capitol here on Monday to solicit the support of provincial officials in their campaign to recover the levy exacted from coconut farmers from 1973 to 1982 during the Marcos dictatorship.

Quezon, a coconut-producing province, is believed to be the biggest contributor to the levy.

Since Quezon Governor David Suarez was in Manila for a meeting, the group was met by provincial administrator Rommel Edaño. “The dialogue was fruitful. We are with our people in their struggle,” Edaño said.

He said he would brief Suarez on his return on plans of action that the provincial government could adopt in support of the coconut farmers.

Danny Carranza, secretary general of the peasant coalition Katarungan-Quezon, said farmers were seeking the help of local officials for an information and awareness campaign.

Katarungan is a national organization with chapters in 17 provinces.

The government has been contesting 20 percent of capital stocks in San Miguel Corp., or 16,276,879 shares, that businessman Eduardo Cojuangco allegedly acquired through the coconut levy when he headed the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving UCPB shares that assets acquired with public funds were “prima facie public,” which meant the state-owned SMC shares that were under the name of Cojuangco.

Last April, however, the high court also affirmed a 2007 decision of the Sandiganbayan that declared Cojuangco’s shares in SMC as “exclusively” his. Cojuangco is known crony of the late dictator Marcos and uncle of President Aquino.

In another ruling last month, the high court affirmed its April ruling with finality and dismissed a motion for reconsideration filed by coconut farmers and the Presidential Commission on Good Government.