Why Take Life Seriously?

How long does it take to achieve justice?

Nineteen long years are not enough to wait for a “legal” justice system in the Philippines. Civil Case No. 0033 (Republic of the Philippines vs. Eduardo “Danding” Cojuanco Jr., et. al) or more popularly known as one of the Coconut Levy Cases is a clear manifestation of a snail-paced justice system.

It has been almost nineteen long years since the start of battle between the coconut farmers and Marcos cronies for the recovery of about a hundred billion pesos. The battle could have been almost over. Almost—that is only if the 27 percent or almost Php 50 billion share of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), one of the biggest corporations in the Philippines, be utilized by its real owners—the coconut farmers.

History

The coconut industry is one of the four major sectors of Philippine agriculture having about one-third of the population dependent on it for livelihood. Coconut products are valuable for the making of some goods like margarine, soap, carbon, virgin coconut oil, and geotextile. It has been the country’s top raw-material export.

The collection of coconut levies or taxes started in 1971 when Republic Act 6260 was enacted, authorizing the collection of Php 0.50/100kg of copra (the dried milky white meat of coconut separated from its shell).

Many presidential decrees during that time were imposed until the collection of levy became an average of Php 60 per 100 kilos of copra. This scheme lasted for almost ten years until 1982 when the levy collection was suspended after various coconut farmers’ organizations campaigned against it.

After the EDSA People Power of 1986, the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) was formed to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. Then President Corazon Aquino ordered the PCGG to audit the coconut levies. The PCGG’s auditing revealed a figure amounting to Php 9.7 billion as the total collection from the coconut levy. This is now estimated to be worth Php 100 billion.

Cases were filed in the Sandiganbayan against the Marcos cronies like Cojuanco, former chairman of the SMC board of directors, then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, and the former Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Lara Lobregat. They ran the three institutions—Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Coconut Producers Federation (COCOFED), and the United Coconut Planters’ Bank (UCPB)—created for the benefit of the coconut farmers using the coconut levy fund.

Fourteen years later, the Supreme Court (SC) has finally declared that the levy was a prima facie (“at first view” or “obviously”) public fund, declaring that, “the delay is no longer tolerable. Worse, it constitutes another embarrassing evidence of a snail-paced justice. The Sandiganbayan must not be the burial ground of cases of far-reaching important to our people,” and ordered the Sandiganbayan to finish the Civil Case No. 0033 in six months.

However, six months became nineteen months of waiting. Only on July 2003 when one of the eight civil cases was decided upon by the Sandiganbayan declaring that the UCPB was capitalized out of the coconut levy funds and therefore belongs to the government for the coconut farmers’ benefits.

Ten months later, on May 7, 2004, the Sandiganbayan rendered its decision declaring that the 27 percent of SMC shares, with estimated value of Php 50 billion and which could earn a yearly interest of Php 5 billion, is government-owned and should be used for the welfare of all the coconut farmers. But the fund could not be used unless the Sandiganbayan grants the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) motion for execution of the decision.

The OSG has filed a Motion for Execution on August 8, 2005 urging the immediate execution of the decision because “the coconut levy funds could be the only hope to genuinely address the multifarious and complicated problems in the coconut industry and the long-standing hardships in the lives of the millions coconut farmers.”

However, PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio has been proposing for a compromise agreement or an out-of-court settlement to fast-track resolution of the levy cases, which could mean freeing Cojuanco from any legal liabilities.

The Compromise Agreement

Oscar Santos, a former Quezon City lawmaker and head of the PCA, now chairman of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement (COIR), said that proposing a compromise is only done by the losing party. He added that it is ironical to offer an out-of-court agreement when you have already won the big block of 27 percent SMC share.

Vicente Fabe, chairperson of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), agreed with this statement saying, “Why should we agree to settle this out-of-court? We already won the case.”

Even Senator Joker Arroyo is questioning the said agreement. On January 31, 2006 in a budget hearing for the PCGG, he asked Sabio who authorized him to enter the coco levy fund on a compromise agreement. The latter could not answer.

However, there are some coconut farmers’ group like the Pambansang Koalisyon ng mga Samahang Magsasaka sa Niyugan (PKSMMN) which are in favor of the compromise agreement.

In the May 14, 2005 issue of the manilatimes.net, Efren Villaseñor, national president of PKSMMN explained that a compromise agreement will pave the way for the long-delayed use of the levy assets.

In addition, the COIR data showed that several region-wide farmers’ organizations like in Cebu, Zamboanga, and Butuan believe that the compromise agreement gives an assurance that the fund will be given directly to the coconut farmers.

Fabe stressed that the arguments of PKSMMN and other pro-compromise agreement is not true.

“This will even delay the execution of the fund. This is just one of the delaying tactics of Cojuanco,” Fabe added.

Santos suggested that the remedy is for the farmers to push for the implementation of 27 percent SMC shares won by the farmers.

The disagreement is reiterated in the open letter of the small coconut farmers of Negros Oriental stating, “Sabio and the pro-compromise coconut farmers misread our collective sentiments. The compromise will not put closure to the social sins committed by Eduardo Cojuanco, Jr. and his cohorts. And it would be a debilitating blow to our nation’s struggle for good governance and public accountability.”

Fabe also explained that the action of the PCGG chair is politically-motivated and is a way for the administration to remain on its post.

Moreover, aside from the 27 percent SMC shares, there is another 20 percent SMC shares which the farmers strongly believe Cojuanco has no legitimate claim of. Its estimated value is Php 40 billion, which could generate Php 4 billion annually.

On the “Excerpts from the Comments of Ka Oca (Santos) on ‘Levy Compromise’ in a farmers’ forum at Lucena City,” he stated that they cannot think of any motive for the compromise but for the 20 percent SMC block to go to Cojuanco. It further expressed their dismay that PCGG is giving away the Php 40 billion which they strongly believe belongs to the coconut farmers.

The said commentary expressed the need for immediate execution of the Sandiganbayan’s decision and for the utilization of the 27 percent SMC shares for the benefit of the coconut farmers.

“There is no reason to enter in a compromise agreement,” the commentary stated.

Actions for Now

Because of the compromise agreement proposed by the PCGG, other groups against it are conducting moves to properly inform the misinformed farmers and fast-track the execution of the Sandiganbayan’s decision.

The PAKISAMA is circulating a signature campaign to prove that more coconut farmers are against the agreement. It is aiming for a minimum of 700,000 signatures nationwide which started last February and hopefully would end in June.

They are also sponsoring forums to explain to the farmers the effects of the compromise agreement. The group aims to discuss in at least nine provinces. Some of the provinces where they have gone to are Quezon, provinces in Bicol, and in Mindanao.

Also, resolutions urging the leagues of Local Government Units (governors, mayors, board members, barangay captains, etc) to request the President, the Supreme Court, the Sandiganbayan, the Solicitor General, the Department of Agriculture, PCA, and the UCPB-CIIF Group of Companies to help hasten resolution of the levy-related cases.

With the aid of the active NGOs, there is hope for the coconut farmers to recover what is theirs.

This now calls for prompt actions because justice delayed is justice denied.

The remaining civil cases should be resolved immediately and the resolved cases must benefit the coconut farmers. Otherwise, all the Sandiganbayan’s decision won by the farmers would be nothing but only pieces of paper.

“It is high time that the real beneficiaries of the coconut levy fund, which are the coconut farmers who contributed to it and the entire coconut industry, be given a chance to reap the benefits that are due them.” (Sandiganbayan Resoltuion in Civil Case No. 0033-F, December 29, 2004)

That is what the Sandiganbayan’s decision on the 27 percent SMC shares declared.

“So what is keeping the court from executing its own decision?” Santos asked.

The generation of the coconut farmers who paid for the coconut levy for almost one decade have already passed. More have died and some have grown old.

Today, another generation of coconut farmers is fighting for the coconut industry, maybe some will die and some will grow old without harvesting what their sector has planted. Unless they, unlike their fathers, will not be denied of what is due them.