Coco Levy Fund scam

The Coco Levy Fund Scam was a controversy in the 1970s and 1980s in the Philippines involving former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies. It was alleged that Marcos, Danding Cojuangco, Juan Ponce Enrile, and others conspired to tax coconut farmers, promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share of the investments, but on the contrary used the collection fund for personal profit, particularly in the purchase of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and a majority stake in San Miguel Corporation (SMC), to name two.[1]

The issue is still ongoing up to this day, with coconut farmers fighting for justice against the forced taxation, and a share of the Coco Levy Fund's investments. The Coco Levy Fund is estimated to have ballooned anywhere in the range of 100 billion to 150 billion in assets.[2][3]

In 2012, a Supreme Court decision[4] awarding ₱71 billion in coconut levy funds to coconut farmers was only part of the goals of a 50-year struggle to bring to the poor farmers the benefits of the Marcos-era levies gouged from them.[5][6]

  1. ^ Panesa, Edmer F. "Cojuangco loses claim to UCPB block". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  2. ^ Requinta, Elka Krystle R. "UCPB exec talks on coco levy scam". Varsitarian. The Varsitarian Online. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  3. ^ Tubeza, Philip. "PCGG exec doubts coconut levy fund's recovery". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  4. ^ "Philippine Coconut Farmers Federation (COCOFED) vs. Republic of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  5. ^ The Coco Levy Funds: Is the Shell Game Approaching Its End? The CenSEI Report, 16 April 2012
  6. ^ Ranada, Pia (10 December 2014). "SC affirms decision to give coco levy funds to farmers". Rappler. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

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