This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 15, May 22-28, 2005
Genuine Small Coconut
Farmers’ Fund Act of 2005: Finally,
a bit of good news for small coconut farmers. Pending at the House of
Representatives is a bill that would bring back the funds to the small coconut
farmers, where the funds truly belong. BY DABET
CASTAŃEDA After being mired in controversy for being
the alleged source of corruption by both public and private individuals, the
coconut levy funds might finally find its way to where it rightfully belongs –
the small coconut farmers. House Bill 3728 (HB3728) or the Genuine
Small Coconut Farmers’ Fund Act of 2005, seeks to declare the coconut levy fund
and the assets acquired and established from it as public funds. It also seeks
to create the Coconut Industry Rehabilitation Development Council (CIRDC) to
administer and manage the funds. “This is a social justice measure that seeks
to rectify the historical injustice that has befallen the small coconut farmers
for many years,” said its main proponent, Anakpawis (toiling masses) Party-list
Rep. Rafael Mariano. Mariano filed the bill during Congress’
first regular session. It has yet to be heard by the Committee on Agriculture
and Food (CAF) where the proponent is the vice-chair. Salient features Mariano, a peasant leader, said the bill
will declare all coco levies and assets acquired or established through the
funds as public funds to be used exclusively for the small coconut farmers and
the rehabilitation of the industry. It differs, he said, from the Supreme Court
(SC) decision in 2001 which declared all coco levy funds as “prima facie
public funds,” meaning the funds were put exclusively into the public
coffers. The problem there, Mariano said, was that it
still opened the doors for corruption. HB3728 also aims to establish a council that
would administer the coco funds. Sections 11 and 12 of the bill says that the
CIRDC will have nine regular members composed of seven representatives including
women farmers from the genuine coconut farmers sector. The two other members will come from
non-government organizations involved in rural development advocacy and in legal
assistance services to coconut farmers. The council will also have two ex-officio
members from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and the Presidential
Commission on Good Government (PCGG). For years, public institutions such as the
PCA, the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation (Cocofed) and the United
Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) had administered the levies. The PCGG took over the
administration of the funds in 1986. The bill also seeks to conduct a thorough
audit and inventory of all assets acquired, established and/or funded by the
coconut levy collections. Criminal liability also awaits those who
have misused the coco farmers’ funds, Mariano said. Some levy assets In a House hearing held last May 17, former
PCGG Commissioner Heidee Yorac told the CAF that the trust account in the UCPB
has been divided three ways: to Finance, which is represented by the UCPB;
Insurance, which consists of seven insurance companies; and oil mill groups
represented by the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF). According to Yorac, it was the CIIF funds
that were used by known Marcos crony Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. to buy 47
percent shares from San Miguel Corporation (SMC). He also sat as SMC chair and
CEO. Through the PCGG, the Aquino government
sequestered these shares, and all other Marcos assets, after the 1986 people’s
uprising that toppled the Marcos dictatorship. Subsequently, the PCGG took over
the administration of the funds. It was during the Estrada administration
that Cojuangco re-established himself at the helm as, again, the chair and CEO
of SMC, and therefore reclaiming his shares in the company. On July 11, 2003, the Sandiganbayan declared
illegal the 27 percent UCPB shares in SMC. This decision led to PCGG’s
administering 27 percent of the shares. Cojuangco however retained control of
the 20 percent or majority of the SMC shares. Support Considering the composition of the House – a
pack of landlords and big business - Mariano expects the bill to likely “invite
debate” among his colleagues, especially those affiliated with Cojuangco.
But with its progressive provisions that
truly invoke the interest of those who rightfully owns the funds, the peasant
solon counts on the support of genuine small coconut farmers. Mariano was quick to say, however, that the
bill would only pave the way for a legal provision to the fund. The success of
the bill, and the cause of the coco farmers as a whole, would largely depend on
the persistence of the progressive peasant movement, he said. The coco levies were extracted from coconut
farmers from 1971 to 1982. The first on the strength of Republic Act 6260 (RA
6260) that imposed .55 cents per 100 kilos of copra. On Aug. 20, 1973,
Presidential Decree 276 (PD 276) imposed a P15 levy per 100 kilos of dried
copra. In the succeeding nine years, the levy went up to a maximum of P100 per
100 kilos or dried copra. At the end of the levy period, the funds
accumulated reached P9.695 billion. According to reports, the principal and
interests could reach about P150 billion today.
Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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Taking Control of the Coco Levy Funds
Bulatlat