Quezon coconut farmers’ sons, grandchildren seek President Aquino’s help

SARIAYA, Quezon, Philippines—Sons, daughters and grandchildren of coconut farmers who paid taxes on every sale of coconut and its products during the Marcos dictatorship called on President Benigno Aquino III to help them recover the controversial multibillion-peso coconut levy.

“The fight for the return of the coco levy to its rightful owner is not yet over. No one who does not even know how to husk coconuts has the right to claim ownership of the multibillion-peso levy that our forefathers had paid for dearly,” Jojo Clavo, president of Ugnayan ng mga Magsasaka-Central Quezon, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Clavo said his late grandfather was one of thousands of Quezon farmers who paid the levy exacted from coconut farmers from 1973 to 1982 during the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“But he died without seeing the return of the levy to them. On his deathbed, he urged his family to continue the struggle,” Clavo said.

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

Take a stand

The coconut farmers urged Mr. Aquino to take a stand on the issue and prove his word that the people are the true “boss” under his administration.

“President Aquino, please help us get the justice we deserve,” said a statement issued by Katarungan sa Quezon, an alliance of several farmers organizations.

In a separate statement, former Quezon Rep. Oscar Santos noted that the millions of Filipino coconut farmers had been struggling for the return of the coco levy for the past 30 years.

“Stand up Mr. President. This could be your defining moment, we pray that you will not miss the boat,” said Santos, former chair of the Philippine Coconut Authority during the administration of Corazon Aquino, mother of the incumbent President.

Last month, the Supreme Court affirmed a 2007 decision of the Sandiganbayan and declared that a block of shares in San Miguel Corp. was the “exclusive property” of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, a known Marcos crony and uncle of Mr. Aquino.

A motion for reconsideration has been filed by the government and representatives of coconut farmers.

Coco levy is public

The government has been contesting 20 percent of San Miguel’s capital stock, or 16,276,879 shares, that Cojuangco allegedly acquired through the coco levy when he headed the United Coconut Planters Bank.

The government maintains that the coco levy is public in nature, which means the state owns the SMC stocks in the name of Cojuangco and his cronies.

Farmer Rico Gutierrez from Barangay Sta. Catalina Sur in the nearby town of Candelaria said he still had the certificates from coconut levy paid by his late father.

“The government said the certificates have no more value. But my family still treasures it as proof that our father was one of the victims of forced coco levy payments,” Gutierrez said.

Sustained protests

Clavo vowed that coconut farmers in Quezon would join peasants across the country in sustained and widespread protest actions against the court decision.

At the end of the press conference, the farmers burned a piece of cloth painted with Cojuangco’s face embossed on a coconut as a symbol of their protest against the claim of the businessman that he owned the block of San Miguel shares.