Aquino asks legal team to review SC ruling on SMC shares

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has tasked his legal counsel to review and give him a briefer on the Supreme Court decision favoring Eduardo “Danding" Cojuangco Jr. in the coco levy case. “There’s so many details and I just want to get the clearest picture of what transpired and what appropriate courses of action will be depending on the recommendations of, again, the legal counsel that I’ve employed," Aquino told reporters in General Santos City where he was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the 23rd National Convention of the Prosecutors’ League of the Philippines. He said once he is briefed on the decision, he would pursue the interest of the majority of the Filipino people. “At the end of the day, siyempre iyong interest po ng nakakarami ang dapat nating pairalin (the interest of the majority should prevail)," he said. In a decision released Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Cojuangco’s 20-percent stake in San Miguel Corp. (SMC) does not form part of the so-called coco levy funds and does not belong to the Philippine government. Coco levy is a tax exacted from coconut farmers from 1973 to 1982, during the term of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Cojuangco and Marcos-era officials bought the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) using coco levy funds. In 1983, the Cojuangco-controlled UCPB acquired shares of stock in SMC. A perceived Marcos crony, Cojuangco is Aquino’s uncle and first cousin of Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon “Cory" Aquino. Aquino has refused to issue a statement on the issue, saying he will wait for the official briefer from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) first before making any. He also said he has yet to read the Supreme Court decision. “Any comment I make now is based on observations by others who have had the opportunity or have been paying attention to the case in all this time. So I’m at a disadvantage, I’m not as thoroughly versed as they are," he said. Aquino said he wants to receive the recommendation from his legal team “at the soonest possible time" although he did not set a deadline for it. “It has to be correct (and in) at the soonest possible time. It’s not really my style to give them one- or two-day deadline for them just to produce something that might not be correct at the end of the day," he said. At a press briefing in Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said a briefer, also called a case digest, would usually contain the facts, the issues, the case, and the ruling of the court. “Normally, a briefer would…you present the facts, you present the issues and then the President will ask some questions. He would certainly have questions that he will ask the legal team," he said. Lacierda said Aquino’s relation to Cojuangco will not affect whatever action the President may take. - KBK, GMA News