Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer and Manila Mayor Francisco Isko Moreno Domagoso on Monday vowed to speed up the return of the coco levy funds to some 1.4 million coconut farmer-beneficiaries who have been waiting for their money for eight years now.
Moreno made the assurance as he and the rest of Team “Isko” returned to this province to continue their campaign sorties through a combination of motorcades and townhall meetings.
Moreno was with his running mate Dr. Willie Ong, Aksyon Demokratiko senatorial bets Dr. Carl Balita, Samira Gutoc and Jopet Sison and guest candidate John Castriciones.
“The last time we’re here in Quezon province is before the filing. Today is the first day of our campaign in Quezon. In Quezon, Laguna, and Batangas, this is one of the victims of the coconut monopoly. Until now, the roles held by coconut farmers have really almost shone over time and many of them, it is really sad, are no longer in the world until now they have not enjoyed its benefits,” Moreno told reporters in Lucena City, Quezon.
Moreno was referring to the 2014 Supreme Court decision which maintained that the 24 percent of San Miguel Corporation’s stocks belong to the public. The 24 percent of SMC stocks were then valued at P74 billion and eight years after, it is now valued at around P76 billion.
In a speech at the flag-raising ceremony in front of Lucena City Hall, Moreno noted that there were similarities in the bad experiences in the monopoly industries of sugar in Negros and Cebu and coconut in the Southern Tagalog provinces of Quezon, Batangas and Laguna, and the bad experiences of sugar and coconut farmers happened during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Moreno is hopeful that the people of Quezon and the thousands of coconut farmers in this province will fight for what is right and what is truly theirs.
Moreno implored the people of Quezon to fight for what is right like what they did in the ‘80s during the 1984 snap elections when they did not vote for administration candidates.
The Coco Levy Fund came from the taxes collected by the Marcos government from some 1.4 million coconut farmers from 1971 to 1983. The taxes collected from coconut farmers amounted P9.7 billion, which were then used by Marcos Sr. and his cronies to invest in stocks and buy businesses for their benefit. The companies include the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), Cocolife Insurance, Legaspi Oil Company, Granexport Manufacturing Corp. and San Pablo Manufacturing Corp., among others.
Moreno also vowed to invest in STEM Courses—Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—but will add Agriculture to enable Filipino students to become competitive with other countries and ensure food security.
Moreno maintained that reinforcing agriculture courses will ensure that college students taking the course will be better equipped with the technical know-how so they can compete with their foreign counterparts.