Gov’t can still appeal decision on SMC—SC spokesman

MANILA, Philippines—The government can still contest the Supreme Court’s decision declaring that the 20 percent stake of businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. in San Miguel Corporation is not ill gotten.

Supreme Court administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said Wednesday that the government still has 15 days upon receipt of the resolution to file a motion for reconsideration of the high court’s decision.

“The decision is not yet final, they can still file a motion for reconsideration,” Marquez said.

SMC is the country’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate, which has diversified into power generation, telecommunications and other businesses.

On Tuesday, the high court affirmed a 2007 decision issued by the Sandiganbayan and declared “that the block of shares in SMC in the names of respondents Cojuangco et al. … is the exclusive property of Cojuangco et al. as registered owners.”

The government had been contesting 20 percent of SMC’s capital stock or 16,276,879 shares that Cojuangco allegedly acquired through the coco levy when he headed the United Coconut Planters Bank. (SMC closed Tuesday at P153 a share in the Philippine Stock Exchange and San Miguel Brewery Inc. at P30.6.)

The government maintains that the coco levy is public in nature, which means that the state owns 20 percent of the SMC stocks in the name of Cojuangco et al.

But the high court said the government failed to establish the preponderance of evidence showing that the shares were illegally acquired.

“Republic’s burden to establish by preponderance of evidence that respondents’ SMC shares had been illegally acquired with coconut levy funds was not discharged,” the high court added.