I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court when it said, among others, in its ruling on the coco levy fund that the 1 million coconut farmers who are members of the Cocofed (Philippine Coconut Producers Federation) are “faceless and nameless” and, worse, “mere nominal stockholders.” (Inquirer, 3/30/12)
On the contrary, I can attest to the fact that here in the municipality of Pagsanjan and other coco-producing towns of Laguna, there are big and small landowner-farmers, like myself (I have 5 hectares of coconut plantation which I personally intercropped with high-value crops such as lanzones, rambutan, pomelo and banana).
Unfortunately, many of our members are already dead while the rest are sickly and old. All of us are holders of worthless stock certificates of the United Coconut Planters Bank and San Miguel Corp.
—CRISOSTOMO B. VILAR
vice mayor, Pagsanjan, Laguna;
chair, Cocofed, Pagsanjan