THE Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to comment on the motion for reconsideration, filed by the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and the United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp., seeking the reversal of the decision denying their claim of ownership over a portion of the 24-percent block of shares in San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
The shares claimed by UCPB and Cocolife were registered in the names of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) and its holding companies earlier ordered by the Court to be returned to the government as part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.
“In the matter of GR 209447 [PCGG v. Hon. Dumayas, et al.], the Court required petitioner to comment on respondents’ urgent motion for reconsideration of the Court’s decision dated August11, 2015, within a period of 10 days from notice of resolution,” the SC ordered.
UCPB and Cocolife insisted that the capital or equity used in establishing the CIIF companies was not exclusively sourced from the coconut levy funds.
UCPB argued that, while P633 million were invested by its administrator, as universal bank it also invested some P112 million in the six CIIF oil mills group.
As to the 14 holding companies, UCPB claimed that, while it had funds in mid-1983 to purchase the 33,133,266 shares in SMC then being sold by the Soriano Group to Cojuangco for P1.656 billion, it could not, under banking laws, directly engage in the business of brewery.
To make the equity investment, the 14 holding companies were established by the CIIF group of oil mills to serve as corporate vehicles for the investment in SMC.
With the supposed equity in the CIIF companies and contributions to the acquisition of the SMC shares, UCPB claims 11.03-percent indirect ownership valued at P7.84 billion.
Cocolife, on the hand, claims ownership in the said companies by virtue of itself being a stockholder to 146,610,567 UCPB shares.
It said that on December 18, 1985, it purchased from UCPB shares of stock in four CIIF oil companies.
It alleged that using funds from Cocolife and UCPB, the CIIF oil mills group was able to raise money for the purchase of 33,133,266 common shares in SMC.
Thus, Cocolife’s ownership in the CIIF companies stands at 11.01 percent.
But, in its August 11 ruling, the Court granted the petition filed by the PCGG seeking to set aside the 2013 orders issued by Regional Trial Court in Makati City Branch 59 Presiding Judge Winlove Dumayas denying its motion to dismiss the consolidated petitions for declaratory relief filed by UCPB and Cocolife.
The SC held the trial court has no jurisdiction to hear and resolve suits involving sequestered coco-levy assets and coco-levy funds.
The Court noted that under Section 4 (c) of Presidential Decree 1606 (the law that created the Sandiganbayan) as amended by Republic Act (RA) 7975 and RA 8249, the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan include suits for recovery of ill-gotten wealth and related cases.