Coco-loka
02/23/2007 | 11:24 AM
Episode airs on Feb. 26, 2007
Reporter: Howie Severino
Can a small-town boy stop the abuse of big-time funds?
Driven by a monster typhoon’s destruction of his native Marinduque’s coconut lands, a local boy now working for a major TV network wages a lonely battle for justice.
GMA researcher Ederic Eder’s mother died at sea while bringing over tuition money, which came from the efforts of his coconut-garming family, so he could enroll at the University of the Philippines.
Now a UP-educated professional, Eder has been researching for years the fate of coconut levy funds that his family paid to the government. Millions of farmers paid the same levy, which was allegedly stolen and used by Marcos cronies to buy companies, including nearly half of the shares in food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp.
Working with I-Witness reporter Howie Severino, Ederic discovers that the government may be getting set to use nearly P2 billion pesos from those farmers’ funds for the election campaign.
They confront officials with their findings and attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.
Reporter: Howie Severino
Can a small-town boy stop the abuse of big-time funds?
Driven by a monster typhoon’s destruction of his native Marinduque’s coconut lands, a local boy now working for a major TV network wages a lonely battle for justice.
GMA researcher Ederic Eder’s mother died at sea while bringing over tuition money, which came from the efforts of his coconut-garming family, so he could enroll at the University of the Philippines.
Now a UP-educated professional, Eder has been researching for years the fate of coconut levy funds that his family paid to the government. Millions of farmers paid the same levy, which was allegedly stolen and used by Marcos cronies to buy companies, including nearly half of the shares in food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp.
Working with I-Witness reporter Howie Severino, Ederic discovers that the government may be getting set to use nearly P2 billion pesos from those farmers’ funds for the election campaign.
They confront officials with their findings and attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.
