Danding blocks govt move to revive dismissed coco levy case

MANILA, Philippines - Businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr on Tuesday asked the Sandiganbayan to junk the government’s appeal to revive Civil Case No. 0033-C, one of eight coconut levy cases, after it was dismissed by the anti-graft court last November 14. The Sandiganbayan junked Civil Case No. 0033-C after government lawyers failed to sign the Pre-Trial Ordered issued on August 9, 2000. In a 26-page motion, Cojuangco through lawyers Estelito P. Mendoza, Lorenzo G. Timbol and Eirene Jhone E. Aguila asked the Sandiganbayan’s First Division to affirm its ruling and junk the government's motion for reconsideration. Cojuangco’s camp said the eight-year delay of proceedings constitute sufficient basis to terminate the case. The Office of the Solicitor General admitted in its motion dated December 5, 2008 that it forgot the case for over eight years and blamed the oversight on its heavy caseload. “Not only should plaintiff’s (Republic of the Philippines) motion for reconsideration be denied and the dismissal be confirmed on ground of failure to prosecute… it should likewise be justified on the ground that the long delay in the termination of a case violates not only the right of a party to due process but also his right to a speedy disposition of his case,” the defendant said. Cojuangco’s camp pointed out that the original complaint was filed July 31, 1987 – or 21 years ago – but the case has not seen one trial day, noting that the Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of cases for much shorter delays. “The delay of more than 20 years should, with stronger reason, warrant the dismissal of the instant case and deny plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration. In fact, there have been no efforts by the plaintiff to have the pre-trial order approved much less have the case set for trial,” the defendant said. Civil Case No. 0033-C concerns allegations that Cojuangco conspired with the late President Ferdinand Marcos, former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos and six other individuals to divert some P840.79 million coconut levy funds drawn from the Coconut Industry Development Fund (CIDF). The funds were supposedly invested for the production of hybrid seednuts on a parcel of land owned by Agricultural Investors, Inc. (AII) in Bugsuk Island, Palawan. Cojuangco “owned and controlled” AII when the company started developing the Bugsuk property in 1972 but in 1986, majority holdings went to other investors like Enrique and Marcos Cojuangco, Rafael Abello, Armando Narciso and Gabriel Villareal. President Marcos, however, terminated the collection of coconut levy funds on August 27, 1982. As the coco-levy was the sole source of CIDF, fund administrator United Coconut Planters Bank (UPCB) had no choice but to rescind its investment agreement with AII, which sued UCPB and won P532.39 million as “liquidated damages” on top of forfeiture in its favor of P426.26 million that was already advanced to it for the Bugsuk project. UCPB did not even file an appeal and simply allowed the ruling to lapse to finality. In its amended complaint, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) sought recovery of P840.79 million plus incomes and interests earned over the years, award of moral damages in the amount of P12.5 billion and exemplary damages of P250 million. - GMANews.TV