UCA News
Contribute

Filipino farmers demand government funds

Coconut growers want share of US$1.6-billion trove raised by Marcos tax
Filipino farmers demand government funds

A Catholic priest blesses protesting farmers who marched 100 kilometers to appeal for the release of billions of pesos raised from a more than three-decade old coconut tax set up by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. (Photo by Vincent Go)

 

 

Published: April 19, 2016 10:20 AM GMT
Updated: April 19, 2016 10:23 AM GMT

Some 200 Filipino farmers from Quezon province have walked more than 100 kilometers to Manila to appeal for the release of billions of pesos collected from a more than three-decade old coconut levy.

The tax was introduced during the dictatorship of former president Ferdinand Marcos.

The farmers want to tap into the US$1.6-billion fund, which is being held by the National Treasury and the United Coconut Planters Bank, to develop the coconut industry and coconut-based enterprises.

"This is not just for my own welfare but for all farmers," said Lorna Alcaide, a coconut farmer from Sariyaya who joined the 135-kilometer long march. 

Marcos and his allies taxed coconut farmers in the 1970s and the early 1980s, purportedly to improve the country's coconut industry and help farmers. 

From 1973 to 1982, the government was able to collect at least US$222.89 million from the farmers. Some 17 years later, the collected coco levy fund was valued at US$2.23 billion.

The government, however, used the money to buy shares in companies like the brewery giant San Miguel Corp. and United Coconut Planters Bank.

In 2012, the Philippine Supreme Court said at least US$1.6 billion belongs to farmers, who are asking the government to put the money in a trust fund. 

An earlier decision in 2011, however, ruled that Eduardo Cojuangco, a Marcos ally, was the rightful owner of 20 percent of the shares of San Miguel Corp. 

The farmers are challenging the decision, saying the Cojuangco shares are part of the "ill-gotten wealth" of Marcos and his cronies. They called on the Supreme Court to reverse its 2011 ruling.

Data from the government's anti-poverty commission shows that coconut farmers, who earn from $300 to $400 a year, are among the "poorest of the poorest" in the Philippines. 

At least 41 percent of coconut farmers — who number about 3.5 million — live below the poverty line, according to the data.

 

 

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia