The privatization of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) had been stalled, as top officials of Malacañang remain undecided on the issue of who should benefit from the proceeds of such sale.
Finance Undersecretary Jose Emmanuel Reverente of the Privatization Management Office (PMO) said last week that while the government is certain that the privatization of UCPB will be good for the economy, the political consequences of such a move remain unresolved.
Reverente said there are groups claiming ownership over the government’s shares in UCPB, such as coconut farmers, whose profits were taxed during the Marcos regime to constitute the coco levy fund.
These claims persist despite a Supreme Court (SC) decision in January 2012, which ruled that the shares of stock in UCPB that were distributed to some 1.4 million coconut farmers as their private property should be reverted to the government because these were bought using public funds.
The coconut farmers are still the stockholders on record in the books of UCPB, but the bank’s board of directors currently regard them as “beneficial owners” of the shares, since the SC has already declared the government as the true owner of such shares.
Reverente earlier said the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which has control of UCPB, is finalizing the criteria for bidders in a public auction for the bank.
But while there may already be prospective investors, the issue of where the proceeds of the sale will go has yet to be resolved by Malacañang.